Haze
Chapter 5
~ Mafia School: It's a game? ~
The forest was cooling, an optimal place for the tournament to take place, Naomi thought. At least it was not under the sweltering sunlight. They were at the forefront of the base hideout, near the exit, while the rest of the house were at the back according to plan.
Naomi waited with anticipation for the starting shot, crouching underneath a bush together with Tsuna, who was quite tensed up. He was drawing circles in the soil, his eyes were wide without blinking much and body unable to keep still.
"Calm down, Tsuna. Any moment now." Naomi snapped. Tsuna jerked and turned his head towards her, face paling, but nodded, trying to recompose himself. He reminded himself once more of the role he had to play, but the fire of a gunshot broke him out of his thoughts.
Naomi immediately lunged out of the base without any hesitation. She ran furiously, branches snapping below her feet, and deftly avoided obstacles in her way, only checking her compass for her sense of direction once in a while.
Finally, she spotted a lone target not far from her and fired her gun that was loaded with special bullets coated with rain flames to tranquilise the opponent. Caught off guard, the target dropped to the ground.
Turning on her ear transceiver with a tap of a button, she informed the rough coordinates of the fallen opponent while seeing her GPS.
"Roger" a voice responded back.
The rustling of leaves grew stronger around her, indicating that many were approaching—just as she had predicted due to her gunshot capturing all the attention. Naomi smirked and steeled herself for the avalanche of incoming opponents.
There were nine in total, mostly from the rain and lightning houses, as she expected. She had targeted this particular location where their bases were located quite close to each other; in order to grasp the opportunity to attack more opponents as possible in this area.
"Plan start. 9 sighted. 49 degrees south, 38 degrees north. Will be done in 10." Naomi whispered into the transceiver, and turned her attention towards the nearest opponent who was wielding a dagger in his hands. She noticed that behind him were three of his comrades, backing him up, and each carrying a different weapon. With nimble steps, the opponent lightly jumped while slashing a dagger towards Naomi, aiming at her navel. Naomi took a quick jump backwards, avoiding it as she shot at the opponent easily at close range.
Behind her, one of the opponents took the opportunity to attack her, but she quickly turned behind by twisting her right feet like a pivot and shot at him. Next, she ran forward, shooting consecutively at the three opponents in front, all dead-accurate. Five down, four left to go.
"Dispersion" Naomi muttered, and surprised the enemy when she suddenly appeared in front of them. Before they could react in time, Naomi infused her hands with ki and pressed against their abdomen, knocking them out.
Through the receiver, Naomi quickly alerted the rest of the house that the plan was successful. But at that moment when just as she was about to stride her way back to the base to reconcile with Tsuna, she felt a surge of killing intent was directed towards her, sending shivers down her spine. Naomi jerked her head towards the source, but saw no visible enemy.
Naomi tensed, and waited with bated breath. She could tell that this enemy was different from the mediocre ones that she had just fought. From the brief filter of sunlight through the canopy, the enemy gave an impression of a lone wolf, eager to hunt down any prey that was in his way. The enemy's predatory gaze never lifted from her as he stepped out of the trees in clear view, figure tall and imposing with tonfas brandished.
Naomi recognised the raven-haired boy with a pair of eyes of the same colour—he was Hibari, and he was an opponent that could make her go all-out.
"Dead-accurate Naomi…" He spoke with a glint of interest in his eyes, before changing to a fighting stance and leaped forward, swinging his tonfas at Naomi. Tonfas clashed with gun, producing a metallic shrill that resounded throughout the forest. It disturbed their surroundings greatly. Birds and small animals scattered away from them, as indication from the fluttering of wings and small movements around them, before everything became silent.
Hibari leaned his body forward, further pushing his tonfas towards Naomi. Naomi gritted her teeth from the great pressure exerted onto her. Knowing she could not win from a competition of strength, she quickly coated her right foot in lightning flames for its hardening properties and kicked her right foot at his abdomen.
However without even battling eyelid, Hibari repelled the attack by one of his tonfas and continued to assault with a flurry of attacks. Naomi would whistle with admiration if she was not busy with defending herself.
Naomi flexibly bent her body to evade Hibari's attacks as though she was a leaf. If not for the long training that Naomi had undergone in the dream realm, she doubted that she could best Hibari with his lethal aim that was purposely aimed at the weakest spots of the human body.
He was indeed one of the strongest adversaries she had ever met, and as foretold by Yuni –a worthy ally for the Vongola Family.
For the next few minutes, the same outcome was repeated as the both of them continued to keep up with the other by one evading and the other attacking. Veins popped around Hibari's forehead, twitching.
"Stop evading me!" Hibari snarled in anger, eyebrows furrowing in frustration.
Seeing his frustration, it inadvertently made Naomi laughed inwardly. A smile leaked through her lips, and Hibari's expression grew even deadlier, seemingly wanting to just kill her on the spot.
"Alright. I need to get back to my partner anyway." Naomi smirked, and defiantly clashed glances with Hibari.
"By defeating you, the sky house will most likely become the champion for this tournament, and my house head would be overjoyed—for apparently she has a grudge on you." Her confident words startled Hibari, given by the miniscule widening of his eyes.
Naomi coated her knee with lightning flames, hardening them, before giving an upper kick, aiming his solar plexus. Predicting that Hibari would immediately block with one of his tonfas, Naomi aimed her gun at Hibari's forehead at that instant. She was surprised when he managed to block her gun.
Hibari gave a smirk of his own, and arched his eyebrows at her as if in challenge. "Is this all you've got?" He sneered.
Naomi understood then that had underestimated him—as expected of a senior, they had loads of first-hand experience that she did not. But at the same time, she was trained by professional hitmen that simulated all sorts of attack—you could say that they were rather serious as well, and hence she knew, with her experience, that she could use one of her tutor's attacks at that moment.
"Mutant shot!" She yelled and pressed the trigger. Hibari immediately narrowed his eyes and leaped backwards, wary at the attack. The single bullet; covered in cloud flames multiplied rapidly as it traversed through the air, before it extinguished and was replaced with sun flames. Hibari's eyes narrowed, and immediately dodged to one side, but the bullets swerved towards his direction, following him.
The bullets were greatly reduced in number as some plummeted into tree trunks in their path. For the rest, Hibari used his tonfas to repel the remaining bullets. But at that instant, Naomi who had erased her existence and hid into the forest emerged and shot at Hibari.
Hibari bit his lips, frustrated he had heard the shot but was not in time to evade it.
As the flame took hold of his body, the tranquillity effect was beginning to spread throughout, diminishing his resistance. Yet despite the numbness, he raised his tonfas with difficulty, trying to fight back. Blood began to drip from his lips as he bit down harshly, trying to move, but he could feel his consciousness starting to waver, flickering in and out.
He struggled a few minutes more, before he finally lost consciousness. His persistence surprised Naomi; she could give him credit for that.
When the deed was reported back to her sky house, Satsuki who heard the news immediately took over the transceiver. She was over the moon about it, gushing about how fortunate Naomi was in her house, and thanking her profusely.
Naomi had to remind her to dispatch teams to follow-up on her actions by lighting the tags of the opponent before they woke up.
"Yup, yup, I communicated with those that were making their way towards your direction." Satsuki said dismissively. "Ahh…I can't express how much I'm grateful that the Hibari is finally defeated. That mongrel! Now sky house will finally have its moment of glory!" She chuckled.
"Yeah…" Naomi replied with a roll of her eyes at her house head was now openly insulting Hibari as she walked. Not long later, she spotted what she was finding. She cut the communication with her house head and walked towards a head of brunette hair behind a bush.
"Eep!" Tsuna let out a surprised cry when Naomi appeared right in front of him, before breathing a sigh of relief when he realised it was Naomi.
Naomi arched her eyebrow in response for Tsuna still looked like a bundle of nerves. "Remember our plan?"
Tsuna nodded readily.
"Don't be so flustered, your job is easy." She consoled. "But remember the defence moves that I taught you just in case. You're my lighter; I can't afford for you to fall to the enemies."
Tsuna looked uncertain. "But I still can't light up the tag."
"Let's leave it till the time comes." Naomi cryptically replied.
"ARGHHHH!" The student screamed in agony when the dynamite hit his shoulder. He collapsed, onto the forest floor, clutching his injured shoulder and stared fearfully at the enemy in front of him.
Gokudera gave a smug grin, and ruthlessly threw several dynamites at him. Once the student stopped moving, he kicked the side of student, rolling his body over, and lighted a red, storm flame over his tag.
He leaned back on a tree, staring at the flame as he took a puff of cigarette and mused in his thoughts. Up till now, any enemy that he had met in his path was sent flying with a 'kaboom!'—too easy. The next few minutes, he continued smoking as he glanced upwards at the sky, admiring the clouds and its shapes, relaxing in the tranquil atmosphere of the forest.
To his annoyance, the sound of the crunching of footsteps approaching broke his peaceful moment in time. Gokudera briefly checked his equipment, and took a stance to prepare himself for any attacks as the opponent approached closer.
However, the person who emerged out of the trees did not seem to be bearing any will to fight. His sword was still sheathed on his back.
"Hi!" he cheerfully greeted him once he saw him.
Gokudera just felt incredulousness and annoyance at his behaviour.
Seeing the other's less than welcoming reaction, the black-haired guy rubbed the back of his head, with a sheepish face. "Haha...I guess I'm being ignored. I wanted to at least talk before we fight."
"Why would you?" Gokudera asked, and Yamamoto looked surprised at Gokudera's question.
He thought for a while, before answering. "To get to know the opponent I'm going to fight."
Feeling insulted with his answer Gokudera's mouth set into a straight line and retorted, "A mafia fights without any restraints. We can't choose our opponents, and least of all, can't hesitate! You know that once you do, death awaits?"
Yamamoto smiled thinly. "I know that. But this is a tournament. It's a game, different from any real missions Mafia are tasked with."
"Right." Gokudera snorted, and shot a pointed look. "Look now, this is a simulation. Our abilities are being tested; I bet there are hidden cameras all over the forest. They do not want us to talk." He emphasized the last word, causing the other to wince, eyes breaking contact.
At that time, Yamamoto stiffened, having spotted a familiar figure on the forest floor, covered in blood.
"Thomas!" Yamamoto shouted, running towards the unconscious house mate.
"Was it you who did this?" He spoke lowly when he saw the serious burns on his whole body and the dislocated shoulder. "TELL ME NOW!" He yelled furiously, when Gokudera did not reply back immediately.
"What's with you?" Gokudera asked, looking at Yamamoto's expression bemusedly. "Yeah, I'm the one who did this." He raised his chin, not showing a hint of remorse in those emerald eyes.
Yamamoto laughed bitterly. He stood, eyes filled with a mix of disappointment and rage. "To think I would want to talk with you. I thought you were different when I first saw you…I guess not." He whispered towards the end.
"What?" Gokudera warily narrowed his eyes, demanding the onyx eyes for an explanation.
Instead, Yamamoto shifted his glance, and started talking into his earpiece, leaving Gokudera miffed from being ignored. From the bits and pieces of his voice that Gokudera could make out, he realised Yamamoto was informing his housemates of Thomas's condition.
No sooner once Yamamoto was done, he pierced Gokudera's eyes with a newfound resolution.
"Let's fight, now." Yamamoto growled, unsheathing his sword from his back.
"As I wanted." Gokudera sniped, and he thought he could see a flicker of disappointment in the other's onyx eyes.
"What's happening in the area now? Is there a fight going on? I hear explosion noises." Naomi asked into the receiver, having heard a loud explosion sound that ricocheted around the forest.
"Judging from your position…Okay, got it. Apparently it's by Hurricane Bomb Hayato—he's the one causing the ruckus. His opponent is Yamamoto." Satsuki answered.
"What?!" Naomi exclaimed and immediately asked for the coordinates. Then she placed a hand on Tsuna's shoulder, startling him with her intense look in eyes.
"We go Northwest. Let's hurry."
She took off in a flurry, before looking back at Tsuna, who was still in the same position. "Quick!" She pressed urgently.
"Ehh?"
They arrived at a clearing that was horribly scarred from a recent battle. "Who did this?" Tsuna asked Naomi, staring at the fallen trees, explosive marks on the ground, and few slash marks with trepidation.
"Yamamoto, and Gokudera, nicknamed Hurricane Bomb."
"Yamamoto?!" Tsuna cried out in surprise with wide eyes. "Is he ok?"
"Yes, I assume, with the fighting still going on." Naomi replied amusedly, before her expression turned serious. "From now onwards, be very careful when approaching them. You do not want to be embroiled in their fight." she warned.
Tsuna nodded apprehensively.
The two slowly approached the main battle with silent footsteps. Tsuna recognised the familiar face, Yamamoto. He held a breath seeing a severe expression on his face that was uncharacteristic of him. He was wielding with a long sword; facing another guy with silver hair. Dynamite draped over from his shoulder to his hip on both sides. He looked scary, but Tsuna felt that Yamamoto at that moment was scarier. Both were smudged in grit, sweat and blood all over, their clothes tattered and torn.
The intensity of the battle really blew Tsuna away. He watched both carrying no hesitation as one attacked the other relentlessly, the battle evenly matched.
From at the pace they were going, Tsuna felt that they were going out of control. The longer they fought, he knew the more the both of them would get hurt. He wanted to stop them—if he could, but he knew he was useless.
"Do it, Tsuna. You can do it." A voice beside him encouraged. Tsuna jerked his head at Naomi, mouth open in surprise.
"It's Dying Will Time!" She smirked and shot, the Beretta somehow found its way onto his forehead. Tsuna's eyes rolled to the back and collapsed.
The orange tinge on his forehead from the bullet spread throughout his body, and a flame lit up on his forehead.
Tsuna's consciousness revived, and he felt great—like he could do anything. There was only one thought in his head—stopping Yamamoto and Gokudera.
"ROARRRR!" He growled ferociously as he stood up, and ran towards the two of them.
Yamamoto and Gokudera were both startled by the brunette boy running towards them at breakneck speed. Without any warning, Tsuna tackled the both of them and hurled them onto the ground.
"What?! Who the hell are you?" Gokudera yelled incoherently. However, Tsuna did not respond, and did not budge either while holding both of them down. Judging that he was a new enemy, Gokudera released a bunch of dynamites at Tsuna.
"Wait-!" Yamamoto yelled, trying to stop him but it was too late. The dynamites were lit and scattered across the forest floor. Yamamoto panicked, trying to push off Tsuna to handle to dynamites.
But, the unexpected happened. Tsuna moved like a quick blur, extinguishing the dynamites one by one with his own hands before they blew up (saving everyone in the process). Once all the dynamites were extinguished, the dying will flame on his forehead extinguished altogether.
When Tsuna returned to his normal consciousness, he found the both of them looking at him in dumbfounderment.
"What are you?" Gokudera murmured breathlessly, emerald eyes very wide as he stared at Tsuna. Yamamoto also had the same question in mind.
Tsuna was unsure what to respond. "Uh…" He looked to Naomi for help, but she just shook her head. Her lips were pressed together, as if trying to curb herself from laughing. Tsuna sighed. He had to settle this on his own then.
"What's your name?" Gokudera asked with a fierce intensity to it.
"Um…Sawada Tsunayoushi."
"Sawada Tsunayoushi" Gokudera repeated the name. The hard expression on Gokudera was instantly replaced to one with gratitude.
"You're my saviour; I will repay my debt to you one day!" He spoke with great fervour, emerald eyes staring intensely into chocolate brown ones. "Until then, let me stay by your side as your bodyguard!"
"No, no wait!" Tsuna exclaimed, "That's troubling, can't we just be regular, uhh, schoolmates?"
"I won't let you do that." Gokudera shot a hard glare, the intensity was so great that Tsuna thought he would be knocked back.
"Then, at least be his friend, that's one way to repay him." A voice interjected. Everyone turned towards the direction of the voice, and found Naomi smirking down at Gokudera.
Gokudera narrowed his eyes. "Who are you, and what are you to Tsuna?"
"Naomi Cavallone." She replied, and Gokudera's eyes widened a minuscule amount, recognizing the name and the influence she held. "I'm his friend." Naomi said, and waved her hand towards Yamamoto, "Yamamoto here is too."
Gokudera grimaced at hearing that the raven-haired boy was Tsuna's friend. "I see." He muttered reluctantly, and turned back to Tsuna.
"Alright, I'll settle to be your friend, and also protect you at the same time."
Tsuna inwardly screamed. That made no difference at all! Just the naming changed! And he had no say in the matter!
"Haha. Tsuna, I didn't know you were that capable." Yamamoto flashed a grin at Tsuna as he got up from the ground and brushed himself of the grime.
"I'm not." She is. Tsuna flicked a questioning glance at Naomi, who winked back. "Anyway, I'm glad the both of you are okay."
"Thanks to you, Tsuna." Yamamoto patted his shoulder, but Gokudera immediately brushed off his hand.
"Don't touch Tsuna!" He cried out in indignation.
"Hey…" Yamamoto furrowed his eyebrows. "I did nothing wrong. Don't pick a fight with me now; considering you're the one who harmed my housemate in the first place." His voice was laced with contained anger.
"What?!" Tsuna sucked in a quick gasp, and turned towards Gokudera, pinning him with a critical stare. "Is that true?"
Seeing Tsuna's adverse reaction, Gokudera shuffled his feet and stared back at him uneasily. "I won't do it again if it displeases you, Tsuna."
"Promise me, Gokudera, that you won't harm others again." Tsuna commanded in a strong tone.
Gokudera ran a hand through his silver hair and sighed. "I promise. But at least let me incapacitate my opponent if the need arises."
Tsuna nodded.
Gokudera smiled thinly in response, and Tsuna felt that maybe, he was not so bad after all.
The game soon came to a close, the blow of a trumpet signalling the end of the game. Much to everyone's surprise; except for those in the Sky House, the Sky House had won, breaking the Cloud house streak. Not only that, the incredible news that Hibari was defeated, by dead-accurate Naomi, no less was passed around, taking everyone by storm.
Hibari lay on the couch, an arm over his head. Behind him, his house head was complaining incessantly about his loss while he prepared coffee. Hibari groaned inwardly.
"Really now. I thought no one could defeat you, Hibari. I guess not everything's definite." His house head, Maxim placed a mug of coffee down onto the coffee table and stared at the youth, who refused to make eye contact with him.
The violet eyes behind his framed spectacles bore an interested glint with a dangerous edge to it. "So…" He drawled, "Tell me how she beat you."
His words made Hibari pressed his eyelids down with further pressure. "I believe…she has controls her elements well." Hibari bit out, clenching his jaw.
"Oh? That's really rare. From you saying it—it must be true." Maxim mused out his thoughts. "She's still at such a young age…I wonder how she is able to control them. A wild card she is then."
Hibari felt his anger peaking, but tried to hold it back. "Am I not one?"
Hearing jealously in his voice, Maxim smiled amusedly. This was a first.
"I never said you weren't. You are—for our house, evident from these past years' championship. But now, her appearance allows the Sky House to hold an advantage over us. I expect we'll have difficulty aiming for the overall championship this year." He sighed, leaning back onto the couch.
Hibari gave a displeased growl in response, which led to Maxim raising one eyebrow as he sipped his coffee.
Halfway through the coffee, the raven-haired boy suddenly sat up, his smothering coal eyes boring into his, startling him. "I will train harder, starting with controlling my cloud element. Can you guide me with that?" He struggled to form his last words, probably a stab to his pride.
Maxim nodded; not controlling his expression, a grin on his face forming. He knew that Hibari valued his pride above all else. For him to consult his guidance…this Naomi must be someone he really wanted to beat.
Hibari glared, but with a swish of his jacket, he was gone.
A/N: Woots! The battle is now over. Hope you're all enjoying the story up till now. R&R!