Chapter 13 – Aftermath
"Vongola Decimo, we will take it from here," a mysterious dark voice said.
Tsuna looked around and saw no one, but he knew that those metal shackles belonged to someone. He knew exactly who, because they were a hard kind of people to imitate. Soon from the shadows of Mukuro's lair several tall statured men appeared. They were clad in dark and had bandages around their skin. The few holes giving room for their mouths to speak and their eyes to look made Tsuna's skin crawl. Indeed, the Vindice were a dreadful Famiglia.
Before Tsuna departed from Italy, Baron had told him that the Vindice might pop up, and that Tsuna had to be careful. Tsuna was not weak, but even he wasn't going to go against whatever the Vindice were plotting. Well, unless of course it had anything to do with Fran or any of his loved ones.
He wanted to leave and take Fran with him so badly, but he couldn't, because the Vindice had mistaken him for his brother.
"I'm not Vongola Decimo."
"You hold the power of Primo, do not lie to us," the voice of the most left Vindice said. The voice sounded accusing.
"Silence Vinegar," a sharp voice said, belonging to one of the specters who had a tall hat on his head. The specter moved forward, a few feet away from Tsuna.
Tsuna had never seen a Vindice before, but he could feel the famed wretched feeling fuming off them. When the middle one hovered forward, Tsuna wanted to take a step back, it took all his might not to. From up close the Vindice specter looked more horrific than from far. The bandages were rotten and broken and dead skin protruded from it. The red glowing eyes that were surrounded by bandages made Tsuna quiver slightly.
"Forgive Vinegar for addressing you as Vongola Decimo," the voice sounded almost apologetic, "he is not the brightest in our Famiglia, but" the hat wearing Vindice leaned forward. Tsuna had to look up to keep eye contact, "why are you wielding the gloves of Primo? Your eyes and face even remind me of him."
Tsuna widened his eyes in shock. Just how old were the Vindice?
Tsuna had to think of a lie quickly, he couldn't just say "oh well you know, I touched a weird cocoon like glowing ball, met Vongola Ottavo and all of the other dead Vongola Bosses, they creeped me out with their mind games, then I promised them that I would destroy Vongola and then I woke up powered up and with these gloves, nothing out of the ordinary."
"Well?" The Vindice said impatient.
"If I were really Vongola Decimo, don't you think I would be wearing the sky ring?" It slipped out before he could think about it. The Vindice leaned back and eyed Tsuna's hands.
"But you do have a ring on," a rotten finger pointed towards Tsuna's right hand.
And the Vindice was right. Because when Tsuna looked down he noticed a ring on his middle finger. Only it wasn't really the sky ring, it was a ring made of sky flames.
Before Tsuna could think of an explanation, the world started spinning. He became dizzy and soon fell down on his knees. His flames doused out. The ring made of sky flames disappeared and the mysterious gloves turned into oven mitts.
It took all Tsuna's mental capacity to not lose consciousness.
"See, no ring," Tsuna offered as he showed his right hand in front of him, "the Vongola ring is solid, I'm not Vongola Decimo."
Silence followed.
What seemed like an eternity passed in only a few seconds. The Vindice with a tall hat on nodded.
"Still," the Vindice offered. Tsuna gulped.
"You have done us a deed. See, our boss had initially contacted Vongola Nono to capture the escapees. We expected the young Vongola Decimo and yet we found you. It does not matter to us who found and weakened the escapees, so in return we will give you a reward."
What men could dream of being offered a gift from the Vindice. Tsuna wondered what it was going to be, he also wondered if he could stay conscious long enough to accept it.
"You may choose low ranked detainee to free from the Vindice prison."
Tsuna's mind raced as he thought of anyone he knew in the Vindice Prison. He didn't, but he remembered someone who would soon be a prisoner.
"Lancia," Tsuna said quickly.
"It is done," the Vindice said in unison. Mist appeared in Mukuro's lair before the Vindice took off with Mukuro and his accomplices.
"Tsunayoshi," a voice said.
Tsuna looked to his right and noticed that Reborn was looking at him curiously. His gun was nowhere to be seen. Tsuna could always see in someone's eye and face if they meant harm, Reborn didn't. Before Tsuna could answer Reborn, something cuddled on his shoulder. He looked down and noticed a green chameleon. The small animal licked at a scrape on Tsuna's neck. It felt very warm. The scrape disappeared not soon after the chameleon licked it.
"Come here Leon," Reborn said.
The chameleon by the name of Leon looked at Reborn, then at Tsuna. It gave a final lick before jumping on Reborn's hat.
"Those mitts belong to my student, Tezuka," Reborn said finally after a moment of silence. Leon hissed sharply after hearing what his master had to say. Reborn tried to silence Leon, but Leon crawled higher up Reborn's hat and began to hiss again. "That cocoon you touched earlier, that was Leon in his transforming stasis. Whenever that happens, he gives a gift to one of my students."
Everything started to make sense to Tsuna. The strange glowing cocoon, Ottavo mistaking him for his brother and the Vindice doing the same. They all thought that because he wore a weapon that was meant for Tezuka, that he was Vongola Decimo. Anger took over Tsuna's mind before he threw the mitts in front of Reborn.
"Take them," Tsuna hissed, "I want nothing to do with the Vongola."
Leon screeched and hissed more.
The room started to circle around Tsuna as he finally gave in to his fatigue. He couldn't stay conscious anymore. Darkness swept in.
"Reborn-sensei?" Tezuka asked as he rubbed the bump on his head.
"You're awake," Reborn said.
"What happened?" The blond boy asked as he walked over next to Reborn, "what's wrong with Leon?" Tezuka pointed towards Leon who was still hissing and screeching. It intensified when Tezuka came closer.
Tezuka was getting annoyed with the stupid animal that Reborn always had with him. The green ugly chameleon was good for powering him up with special bullets, but other than that it was a real nuisance. More than once he had the urge to squash the green filth. Before he could further muse on his thoughts of killing Leon, Tezuka noticed to where Reborn was looking at. He gasped. It was his stupid brother.
"What's he doing here?" Tezuka asked angry stepping forward to his brother's limp form. Tezuka thought he looked pathetic, just like he was supposed to look like.
"Tsunayoshi defeated Rokudo Mukuro while you were knocked out Tezu-baka," Reborn said without looking at Tezuka.
"What?" Tezuka said startled, "lies! Tsuna-baka is a weakling!" He shouted.
Reborn widened his eyes at what he was hearing. He didn't know why, but everything somehow lead to a place he didn't want it to go. It was as if he was missing a vital piece of information that would make everything make sense again.
"Mistake, never call senpai 'baka' when I'm around," Fran said with burning eyes as he appeared behind Tezuka ready to strike. Fran had woken up at the same time as Tsuna had, but was too weak to help out. He was feeling much better now though.
Fran's fist almost connected with Tezuka's head, but then Fran howled in pain as his hand was burnt. He looked with widened eyes as all around Tezuka a red aura stormed wildly. If Fran didn't know any better, he would say the color was the same as blood. His hand was hurting badly. He couldn't move it at all.
"Oh look, it's Tsuna-baka's pathetic little friend," Tezuka said as his eyes colored in red. He grinned evilly.
Reborn looked with a baffled look. Tezuka just summoned a dying will aura with the same strength as Xanxus had during the 'Crib accident'. First Tsunayoshi, now Tezuka? Nothing made sense.
Fran looked around. Gokudera was waking up and then it would be three against one. The odds were not in his favor. He couldn't take on all three of them at the state that he was in, especially not if senpai was right about Reborn. Fran cursed before he let his mist dying will flames shroud him into a fog that slowly disappeared into nothingness.
"Where'd he go!?" Tezuka yelled as he shot a shot of red plasma towards where Tezuka first stood. A big bang could be heard as the shot connected with concrete that broke into crumbles.
Fran reappeared next to Tsuna. Then he used what little dying will flames he had left to teleport them both out of Kokuyo middle school.
{Aftermath}
"Tezuka calm down," Reborn said carefully eyeing his pupil. Tezuka shot multiple shots of plasma all around the chamber when Fran disappeared with Tsunayoshi. Pieces of brick fell down from the ceiling. Reborn was on edge, slightly worried that the ceiling would fall down on them.
"He needs to die, they both need to die!" Tezuka yelled crazed.
"That's not how the future boss of Vongola should act like," Reborn said with restrain. Leon hisses became unbearable for his ears when Tezuka had entered his new state.
This new state was obviously the hyper dying will mode. Tezuka must have activated it or acquired it the same time as Tsunayoshi had acquired his own. There were odd powers at work, and Reborn wasn't going to let it rest until he knew what exactly was going on. For now his hypothesis remained that the moment Tsunayoshi made contact with Leon's cocoon, something triggered that sent traces of hidden sky flames all around. Somehow the flames resonated with both Tsunayoshi and Tezuka. With the training that he gave to Tezuka, getting into hyper dying will mode should be not very difficult, but the amount of aura that was being sent out now was insane.
Tezuka eyed his teacher. He felt empowered. He wanted nothing more than to crush Reborn under his feet. He certainly felt like he could do so now. Tezuka soon remembered that Reborn was the number one hitman in the entire world. He would deal with him later Tezuka decided.
{Aftermath}
Two weeks later
Much had happened the past weeks. Tsuna recalled how two weeks ago Fran and he had settled things in Kokuyo middle school, ensuring that the Vongola rings would arrive because their hosts would still be alive.
Tsuna felt much better now. His entire body was burnt. Fran had flown both of them back to Italy with a private jet courtesy of their boss Baron. The Famiglia's physicians had checked them out. Tsuna's wounds were healed by doctor with Sun flames.
Fran's case was more tedious. Baron had to come to their private hospital that was located in Rome. Tsuna could remember how it went, like it happened just yesterday.
"Is my Fran-kun hurt?" Baron giggled as he hovered over Fran lying on a white bed with white sheets covering his frame. Fran's right hand was encased in a glass case with Rain and Lightning flames forming a barrier in the glass. Sun flames were shot directly into Fran's bloodstream so that every time the 'Death Flames' as Baron would later call them, destroyed living cells, the Sun flames would regenerate them.
"I failed you, I'm sorry boss," Tsuna said with his head down sitting next to Fran's bed.
"It's not your fault senpai! I should have just killed him when I had the chance!" Fran added with angry.
"It's none of your faults," Baron said after a short silence, "the Death flames only exist in this World Line, it is something special that was inevitable. Now let me have a look at your arm Fran-kun."
After that Fran's arm was as good as new. They flew back to Namimori the very same day.