Trigger: N/A
Warnings: N/A
Important Stuff: Supernatural Stuff
I love you guys you know that right? Over 500 alerts, 400 favs and 121 reviews. You guys are amazing.
Also, I'm thinking not many of you are Over the Garden Wall fans (I think only one person panicked xD)
Cookies for everyone who helped me track down the whole eyebrow furrowed, fists in prayer quote. It was really interesting to hear everyone's thoughts on that. :O It also set off a bunch of headcanons but yeah for another day.
Anyways, my week looks like it's off to a rough start so as I de-stressed, I pushed to just finish this chapter. I hope you guys enjoy.
-Last Time-
Over the Garden Wall
Reborn woke up to a blue sky and forest of purple trees. He frowned, eyes narrowing, roaming over the scenery.
Tsuna! Where was Tsuna? Reborn looked around, trying to pinpoint the brunet. Tsuna was nowhere to be found. Reborn was alone. All around him was nothing but purple trees.
Reborn reached up to tug his fedora down in frustration before stopping to stare at his hand. These hands… He flexed his fingers, staring at the much larger hand. In fact, he glanced up and down at himself, patting his legs, chest and arms in disbelief. He was in his full adult body again. Impossible. How?
"What the hell is going on?"
Into the Unknown
Thoughts whirled in Reborn's head. This was an impossibility. He had returned to his adult form. Did that mean the curse was broken? No… The yellow pacifier still hung around his neck, the constant weight still crushing down on his soul.
How?
Reborn ground his teeth in frustration. Honestly, ever since he came to Namimori, everything Reborn had ever known was being turned upside down. It was humiliating, infuriating, and getting very, very tiresome. Every time it felt like things were settling down, it was like someone stirred the pot again, jumbling everything. It was fine that Reborn didn't know everything between Ienari and Tsuna, he would find out eventually, but Namimori seemed to like throwing new things at him constantly, changing the rules again.
Reborn suppressed the urge to scream aloud.
Putting aside, the mystery of his adult body, where was Tsuna? What happened? The last thing Reborn remembered was setting up his hammock in Tsuna's room and settling down for the night. Tsuna had fallen into a deep sleep after Reborn had triggered his panic attack and Reborn refused to leave the brunet alone.
So how had he gotten from Tsuna's room to… a forest of purple trees? Reborn ignored the fact that purple trees did not exist, or at least not the exact shade of pastel light purple and were those orange polka dots on some of them? No. He was not thinking about that.
Reborn tugged at his fedora, before a feeling of dread washed over him. He whipped off his fedora, staring at the empty brim. Leon was missing too. "Leon?" Reborn called out, hoping his partner was somewhere nearby and had just wandered off.
There was nothing but the whistle of the wind through the leaves.
Something, not quite fear, but more like vulnerability, inundated Reborn. He may be well on his way to accepting Tsuna as his sky, but Leon was Reborn's partner. Leon had been through everything with Reborn, through the curse and dark aftermath, through Dino's training, through the solemnest of nights when dark dreams kept Reborn awake. Reborn couldn't recall the last time he was unaware of Leon's location. Whether it was on the brim of his hat or curled up in Tsuna's hair, even if they were separated, Reborn always knew where Leon was.
It was unsettling that he didn't.
But Reborn was nothing but a survivor. It was a high possibility that wherever Tsuna was, Leon was. After all, Leon had nestled into Tsuna's soft hair the moment the brunet had fallen asleep.
Further examination proved he was still armed and that he did still have access to his flames. Now all he had to do now was figure out where he was and how he was going to get out of here. With no other leads, Reborn picked a direction and started walking. The sooner he was out of this strange forest, the better.
He ignored the 'Kyaaa' of a crow in the distance.
Fork in the Road
Eventually, Reborn had found a road through the forest. Walking along it -perhaps he would find someone and could ask for directions- he finally reached a fork in the road.
There were two signs, but both were written in a language Reborn didn't recognize. It looked like someone had thrown all the languages of the world together and mashed it up, leaving behind an unrecognizable group of symbols.
Which direction to go in?
"The one pointing to the right says Area: Sunshine Flower Field. The one pointing to the left says, Area: Thunderous Rocks, Danger."
Reborn instantly pulled out a gun, glancing around the area. "Who's there?" he called out.
Silence.
Swiftly, Reborn made his choice. An unknown threat lurked somewhere. He was not staying around to find out.
Halfway down his choice, the voice rang out again. "So distrustful. Have it your way. Turning right would have taken you somewhere safe, but if you want to do it the hard way, have fun."
As if Reborn would trust a disembodied voice.
Thunderous Rocks
Okay. Maybe the voice had a slight point. Maybe.
Reborn wasn't willing to admit that aloud, but within his own head, he could concede that the voice was right to turn right.
Thunderous Rocks were literal lightning rocks. They crackled with electricity, flaring at random. Lightning strikes fell from the sky as well, striking the rocks and sending sparks flying. It looked dangerous, extremely dangerous to cross and Reborn's instincts did not need to scream at him to know it was a very bad idea to attempt cross the field without knowing where he was going.
Under normal circumstances, Reborn would have turned back around. His pride was not worth his life and Reborn knew when to admit defeat in the face of the unreasonably impractical. (Normal impossible, Reborn might challenge, but there was crazy and there was death wish and Reborn had no plans on dying.)
The only problem was the path back to the purple tree forest had faded away. The road Reborn had traveled on, disappeared, leaving him in the middle of the area with rocks that discharged electricity. He hopped from rock to rock, hoping his luck would hold. He figured if he aimed for the rocks that just discharged, there would be less of a chance it of it discharging again so soon.
He leapt, aiming for the large rock in front of him when lightning struck, hitting the large rock and sending Reborn skidding back. "Shit!" Reborn cursed, recognizing the tattletale signs of discharge on the rock he had been forced to land on. He called up his Sun Flames, hoping the increased speed would get him away, injured but alive.
Before the rock discharged though, Reborn was blown into the sky by a miniature tornado.
Shit. Reborn cursed in even language he knew in his head. Where the hell had he ended up? Nothing made any sense. Purple trees, rocks that discharged lightning, and disembodied voices. This was insane. Not the good kind insane either. But the mind fucking, reality warping kind. And this was coming from Reborn, who was the world's greatest hitman, who got turned into a baby, who dealt with the insanity that is the mafia and dying will flames, who knew Viper and just about any Mist Flame user worth knowing. Reborn didn't think life couldn't throw any more curves balls that would really surprise him.
He was so wrong.
Finding Tsuna aside, why, why had he ever accepted this job to come to Namimori of all places?
The stress was not worth it.
Nor was the sudden inverse of gravity!
The tornado had blown Reborn into the sky, pass the gray thunder clouds. The sky shifted into a soft orange color, the same color as pure sky flames. And even though Reborn should be still traveling at upward trajectory, when he looked up, he was approaching what looked to be a river.
He hit the water and resurfaced out of an ocean.
What. The. Hell?!
Dizzy, Reborn looked around. An ocean. He had been blown past thunderclouds, fell into a river above the thunderclouds and came out of an ocean?! His head throbbed from the headache, trying desperately to understand.
He struggled out of the cold water, stepping onto the soft white sand. The sky above him was now a pale pink and the ocean had a greenish tint. It was a pretty safe bet that he was not in Namimori anymore. In fact Reborn couldn't even begin to place where he could possibly be. After all, the colors were all wrong, physics appeared to be broken and things that shouldn't logically exist obviously did.
"You're not very smart are you?"
Zephyr
Reborn's eyes snapped toward the source of the same disembodied voice from the forest. There, sitting on a piece of driftwood was a young teenage boy. With black hair and ice blue eyes, he couldn't have been more than a year or two older then Tsuna. A black low V neck top revealed a blue dragon tattoo curling around his neck. A white leather jacket, various rings and chains and green slacks with black boots finished the outfit.
"Who are you?" Reborn snapped.
The ice blue eyes crinkled in amusement. "You may call me Zephyr. You are?"
"Reborn."
Zephyr gave him a lazy grin. "You know, the first rule here is not to give out your name. Words have power, especially names. You're lucky I don't want to enslave you."
Reborn leveled his gun at Zephyr. He was not in the mood to play games.
"No need to shoot," Zephyr said with an easy grin. He wasn't threatened even the slightest. "I promise I'm here to help." Then his grin turned sharp. "But the second rule of this place is not to accept anything from a stranger, so I'll let you decide whether you want my help or not."
Reborn lowered his gun. He did not want to ask for help. Especially not after that bit of advice. But he didn't know where he was, where he was going or where he could find Tsuna. If he had taken the original advice given to him, well it was entirely possible that Sunshine Flowers Field could have been deadly too, but probably not as bad Thunderous Rocks. Information was valuable.
"Where am I?" Reborn asked.
"This place is called many things, but the most common I suppose would be the Spirit World," Zephyr replied in a lazy drawl.
"Spirit World," Reborn repeated in a flat tone. Sure, why not? Primo was a ghost that could materialize in Namimori and Tsuna and Hibari could see him without Primo having to exert more energy to reveal himself. If Primo's ghost was still around, a spirit world wasn't that farfetched. It did not, however, explain what Reborn was doing in the Spirit World in the first place!
"How do I get back to Japan?" Reborn asked.
"Well~," Zephyr said, amused. "If you had gone to Sunshine Flower Field, there would have been a portal that would have taken you back."
What. If Reborn had taken the stupid advice in the first place, he wouldn't be in this mess? Reborn snarled. The air grew frigid as his anger and bloodlust tempered the air.
"But," Zephyr continued, ignoring Reborn's flaring bloodlust. "It wouldn't have mattered because you can't go back."
Reborn didn't hesitate, firing off a bullet through Zephyr's black hair as a warning shot. "Explain," he said darkly.
Zephyr stared him, bored. Rolling his eyes, Zephyr said, "The reason why you're here is because somewhere along the way you pissed off a god or spirit or two. You're being tested, idiot. Judged really. Until you pass the test, all portals will lock you here in the Spirit World."
"And if I don't pass this test?" Reborn asked, growing more and more vexed.
"You die," Zephyr said, plainly. "Humans, normal humans, like you aren't meant to stay that long in the Spirit World. If you had some spiritual power in you, you probably would have been okay if you got stuck here. But you don't. So you'll either die in the judgement or get enslaved by a spirit or eaten by a god or any of the other horrible deaths that happened when a normal human stumbles into this place."
This was stupid. So very stupid.
"Where do I go for this test?" Reborn asked, jaw clenched tightly. If he wasn't careful, he would be grinding his teeth soon in frustration.
"Don't know. The spirit you pissed off chooses the location and the test. You have to find them. Trust me, you'll know when you find them," Zephyr said.
Reborn grated his teeth. "So I just wander around until I find them? How big is this spirit world?"
"Yup. And about oh three to four times as the Real World."
Reborn stomped down on the urge to kill the brat in front of him. Zephyr was the only source of information Reborn had. Reborn took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down.
"Alright, what else do I need to know? You mentioned something about rules?" Reborn demanded.
Zephyr let out a laugh. "Sure, sure. There are some basic rules you should know about. The first, don't give out your name. Words have power, especially names. There are spirits who will make you their slave if you give them your name."
"Why did you tell me yours then?"
"Who said Zephyr is my real name? Besides, you're a human. You can't do anything with my name."
So aliases were fine. That was easy enough for Reborn.
"Second, don't accept anything from anyone. Especially food. Everything comes with a price and in exchange for anything, something must be given in return. Nice spirits will tell you in advance what the price is, mean ones won't," Zephyr said.
So did that mean Zephyr was a "mean" spirit who was going to take something from Reborn for freely giving away this information? Reborn felt his temper flare again.
As if reading his mind, Zephyr added. "I owe someone a favor, so my helping you out isn't part a trick on my part. Someone else is paying for the information I am freely giving you. Be grateful. Most humans who wander into this world don't get a rule book. Now continuing on, rule three goes with rule two, if you can avoid it don't eat anything here. Are you familiar with the legend of Persephone and Hades?"
Reborn nodded. Hades, Greek God of the Underworld, kidnapped Persephone the daughter of Demeter, Greek Goddess of Harvest. Demeter demanded Hades to return her daughter, plunging the world into a barren wasteland while she mourned. But before he did so, Persephone ate six pomegranate seeds, the food of the Underworld. For that she had to spend six months in the Underworld, six months above with her mother.
"While not completely the same, something similar could be said about the food here. You could eat it, but since you lack Spiritual Energy, it's not really good for you and you can end up like Persephone and unable to leave. Food is also the easiest way to incur a debt. Now, unless you are unlucky and can't find the spirit you pissed off, you shouldn't be here long enough to get hungry. But if you do and you must eat, find it in the wild, not from someone or a store. Apologize for harvesting the food early, give thanks before and after eating."
"Give thanks?" Reborn questioned. He was not a religious person, not even close. Did that mean a prayer?
Zephyr snorted. "You were in Japan before this no? Itadakimasu, for example, is good enough. It doesn't have to be directed at a specific spirit. What matters is the intent. It pisses off a lot of spirits when people don't show basic gratitude. That brings me to the last rule you should know, be polite, mind your manners. You won't offend any spirits if you are extra polite."
"I don't even know how I offended this first one," Reborn said bitterly.
"Did you shoot any birds?" Zephyr asked. His tone was amused and sarcastic.
Reborn paused. Well, there was that crow that was clearly stalking Tsuna, but Reborn hadn't killed it! It had been one bullet and just enough to scare it away!
"You did!" Zephyr looked far too amused for Reborn's liking. "Birds are the most common messengers for most spirits. Not that you can tell a normal bird from a spiritual one. Of course, birds aren't the only ones, could have been a mouse too."
Did that mean Reborn wasn't allowed to kill anything in Japan? What the fuck?
"Though most spirits don't particularly care if someone takes a swing at their messengers. Depends on the spirit. But more likely you hurt a favorite human of a spirit," Zephyr said.
Instantly Tsuna and the Dying Will Bullet accident popped into Reborn's head. He shivered slightly from his wet clothes and guilt.
Zephyr flicked his wrist and a burst of warm air hit Reborn.
"All dry?" Zephyr asked.
Reborn was. That would make sense. A gust of wind had blown him into the sky and a zephyr was a soft gentle breeze. So Zephyr here was a wind spirit. "Thanks," Reborn said, grudgingly.
Zephyr laughed, throwing his arms behind his head. "Cute. I'm starting to see why I got sent to look after you. There are going to be spirits coming after you from everywhere."
That was not comforting at all.
"Regardless of whether you did hurt a spirit's favorite human though, unless the spirit tells you about it directly, there's no real way of knowing why you're really here. Maybe you got dragged into the Spirit World just because you impressed a god. Anyways, I got things to do," Zephyr said. He stood, before losing his balance and falling to the soft sand.
Reborn smirked, inwardly laughing. That was exactly like how Dino and Tsuna were always tripping over thin air. "Clumsy aren't you?"
Zephyr scowled, floating himself into the air. "Oh, hush. I don't know how you humans walk on two legs. How do you even balance?"
"You don't normally look like this?" Reborn asked, curious.
"No way. I just borrowed this form from a friend," Zephyr said, giving a twirl in the air to shake off the sand. "You're more comfortable with a human form after all. Or so I was told."
"Is that friend the one who sent you?" Reborn questioned. Why was someone helping him out? Who was helping him out? What did Zephyr normally look like then? Or other spirits? Animals? Or closer to the legends and myths like Tengu and Kitsune?
Zephyr shook his head. "Nah. And no, I'm not obligated to tell you that. You better get going. I told you, it's not good for normal humans to stay too long here."
He flew up into the pink sky, stopping a few feet off the ground. Turning back toward Reborn, Zephyr drew a symbol in the air. "Oh, by the way, if you come across any more signs like the one on the fork in the road, this is the symbol for danger. Try to avoid areas with that symbol. No guarantee I'll be in the area to save you again."
Cheeky spirit!
"And some spirits can read minds!"
Reborn growled and pulled his fedora down. The Spirit World. A test from a god. Sheer madness.
Kodama
Soon, the pink sky and green ocean faded away and a tall lush green forest took its place. The trees were grand and large, towering so high that Reborn could barely catch a glimpse of the blue sky.
The sound of rattling filled the air. Reborn took a cautious glance around as white spirits started to appear. Upon the tree branches and moss covered rocks, they gathered around Reborn. They were tiny things, not even foot big. Hollowed black eyes and mouth, it stared at Reborn, its head twisting like a wind up key before letting loose, rattling.
Suppressing the urge to fire off a bullet, Reborn took a deep breath and remembered the rules Zephyr had told him. Be polite. Reborn swept off his fedora and bowed. "Please grant me passage through your forest."
The spirits started to swarm, moving in a single direction. A few stopped to tug at Reborn's pants.
"That direction, huh?" Reborn's instincts told him nothing dangerous laid ahead. Though how much his instincts could be trusted in this Spirit World remained to be seen. Still with no other way to go, all Reborn could do was follow.
A Moving Castle
The white forest spirits lead Reborn to an open field and a large lake. Wind blew, swaying the tall grass. The sky was a clear blue and the bright sun hung low, just over the mountain range in the distance. Reborn wasn't fooled for one second.
With a bow, Reborn thanked the spirits for guiding him to this spot. The small white creatures gather another rattle before fading away.
At the edge of the lake a large… machine appeared to be sitting. Reddish in color, it was a strange, house Reborn supposed, or perhaps a castle would be a better word? It was clearly a home of some sort though.
As he approached the edge of the lake, an old woman in a blue dress came storming out of the building carrying a large load of laundry. "Ah," the woman said, noticing Reborn. "Young man, come help me with this laundry please!"
Reborn wavered, not sure if this was a trick he should be wary of. But the rule of politeness won out. So he softly sighed and walked over to the elderly old lady and helped her hang the laundry. A hopping scarecrow took the clothes line and jumped up onto the castle building, allowing the clothes to flap in the breeze.
The old woman wiped her brow at the job well done before turning to Reborn. With a smile, she asked, "Thank you for the help, young man. What can I give you as repayment?"
Everything was a give and take in the Spirit World. Reborn hesitated. Information. He needed more information. What could he expect from the test? Or, more importantly, was Tsuna in the Spirit World as well? Words have power here, he needed to ask carefully.
"I'm seeking someone. I don't know how I came to this world, but I need to make sure that only I came and not my companions," Reborn asked. Zephyr made it sound like that Reborn would stumble across the test and the god judging him eventually. So the more important thing was to make sure Tsuna and Leon were not trapped in this world.
The old woman hummed. "Information you seek then. I would visit Kamikawa then. Kamikawa is an origami phoenix, born to life by a master craftsman. Any information written on paper Kamikawa can obtain. These past several years she prefers Real World, apparently having found a human she is fond of. But she appears to have made a trip back to the Spirit World today, so you are in luck. While her information is limited to what is written on paper, she is one of the few information spirits you can ask for help for without it costing you an arm and a leg. Information is valuable after all. All Kamikawa wants in return is more information, a story that no one else knows but you. You can find her in the Area: Grand Central Library. I will write you the instructions."
Reborn nodded. "Thank you. If it isn't too much to ask, do you know a language from the Real World?"
The old woman grinned. She ushered him closer to the door of the house, but did not invite Reborn in. Instead, she fetched a pen and paper from inside. "Cannot read the Spirit World Language, can you?" she lightly teased. "Is Japanese okay?"
Reborn nodded. Then he noticed they had been speaking Japanese to each other. Now that he thought about it, he had spoken Japanese to Zephyr too didn't he?
Laughing, the old woman said, "Finally noticed? You'll find most spirits that look human were human at one point or spent so much time in the Real World, they were able to learn to mimic human forms and speak Real World tongue. Most spirits don't bother to learn, but that also makes the human looking one more dangerous."
The old woman handed Reborn the paper and a small purple bag. "The bag contains inarizushi," she said. "I'm sure someone explained why you shouldn't eat it, but inarizushi is a good offering, especially to a kitsune. I got a feeling that you will be needing it."
Reborn bowed respectfully. "Thank you for your help."
The laugh of a young girl instead of an old woman, caused Reborn to look up. Gone was the elderly woman and a young woman with the same silver hair and blue dress stood in her place. "You're such a gentlemen. You better get going. It will be getting dark soon."
Reborn nodded, tipping his fedora and left.
Kamikawa (The Grand Central Library)
Reborn looked up at the impossibly tall bookshelves. They stretched all the way to the high vaulted ceilings. Rows and rows of wooden bookshelves, the dusty smell of books and absolute silence. The lights were dimmed low, bright enough to see and read without straining one's eyes, but dim enough to cast long shadows in the corners of the library.
He placed a hand on the black metal handrail, stepping down the spiral staircase that led to the heart of the library. At the bottom of the stairs, sitting on a large wooden branch perch was a paper phoenix Ivory white and textured like actual paper, had it not been for the too lifelike black eyes, Reborn would have thought it was an art statue.
"Kamikawa?" Reborn asked carefully. He did not approach, far too wary to let something so unknown get too close.
Kamikawa stretched her wings, revealing rainbow colored under feathers. A yellow feather dislodged, and floated into the air. Then in elegant script, it wrote in perfect Japanese, 'I am Kamikawa.'
Reborn gave a polite bow. "I am seeking information. I was told in exchange for a story that only I know, you can tell me the information I seek."
Kamikawa let out a soft coo and a golden scale floated to the ground. 'Tell your story and the scale will weigh its worth. Then ask your question and the scale will determine the weight of the question. If your story is still worth more, you may ask another question.'
Reborn took a deep breath. A story only he knew. The only ones he had to offer were his own memories from childhood. He offered up the most harmless one he could think of.
The scale tipped to one side.
'Ask your question.'
Reborn hesitated. How did he word it without giving away Tsuna's name? "I do not know how I came to the Spirit World, but the last thing I remember is falling asleep in a room with two of my companions. Is there any way to confirm that only I arrive in the Spirit World?"
'You speak of your animal companion and the boy named Tsu-kun.'
Black eyes widened slightly in surprise. If Kamikawa only dealt with information on paper, how did she know about Tsuna and Leon?
Kamikawa tilted her head. Reborn got the distinct impression that she was amused. The single yellow feather floated into the air once more. 'Your arrival to the Spirit World was highly anticipated by those I know. None who are a harm to you. The boy, Tsu-kun, is infamous if you merely listen to Sky and his guardians.'
Sky and his guardians. The first generation. Primo and his guardians. Reborn really shouldn't be surprised by that.
'I can confirm that both your animal companion and Tsu-kun are still safe within the realms of the Real World.'
That was a relief. At least they were both safe. Reborn felt the tension he was unaware he was under fade away. Information was precious, false information was rarely (if ever) given from those who seek knowledge and wisdom.
The scale tipped slightly, but otherwise remained heavy on the side where Reborn's story had been placed. Kamikawa looked at it. 'You may ask another question.'
Reborn thought very carefully about his question. "Do you know why I was brought to the Spirit World?"
'There are many reasons. Curiosity, judgement, anger. You are an odd one, Sun Arcobaleno. You bare the weight of the Tri-Ni-Set, you have indirectly caused harm to the boy Tsu-kun who has unknowing the favor of many spirits, you have taken a shot against a messenger.'
Reborn felt his stomach flip. The remainder of Kamikawa's words did not register; his brain sputtering to the stop at her reference to the Tri-Ni-Set. Without meaning to, his next question fell from his lips. "Do you know how to reverse the Acrobaleno Curse?"
Could Reborn leave the Spirit World with his adult body intact?
'There is no written cure for the Acrobaleno Curse.' The yellow feather wavered. 'If you wish for more information, you must offer another story.'
Reborn cursed lightly, offering up another story. He offered two in fact, knowing the weight of questions he was about to ask would be heavy and that he had many. The scales tipped again.
Kamikawa chirped her approval and the yellow feather continue to write. 'You are in your uncursed form for that is how you imagine yourself to be. The Spirit World does not tie to your physical appearance, but how you perceived your soul. But this is largely due to the method in which you have traveled to the Spirit World. Under normal circumstances, you would have arrived in your cursed form.'
Reborn nearly asked how he had arrived before stopping himself. No, there were more important questions to ask. "Is there a god that can remove my curse?" he asked. A cure was something all the Acrobaleno searched for. Verde, the smartest of them all, yielded no results.
'There are many, but the price is so steep, I do not recommend it. After all, will you trade one curse for another?'
No. Reborn wouldn't it. He let out a frustrated groan. So close and yet so far. "So a cure is impossible?" he asked.
Kamikawa rustled her feathers in indignation. 'Very few things are absolute in this world. The limitation of knowledge is not one of them. One will never stop learning, never stop discovering new things. An endless realm of possibilities. The heavy weight of the Tri-Ni-Set is due to the imbalance, thus the Acrobaleno feel the most backlash. For the Vongola Rings remain sealed until a true successor comes along, and the Mare Rings remain in slumber. Balance the Tri-Ni-Set must come first.'
Reborn blinked bemused by Kamikawa's words. How did one go about balancing the Tri-Ni-Set? The Man in the Iron Hat? What did the phoenix mean that the Vongola Rings were sealed?
'Even if balance is obtained, there is no answer you will find in the Spirit World. Humans are the ones who innovate. They will be the one to discover.'
Translation, either Verde would discover it or Verde wouldn't. And even if Verde failed, another future Acrobaleno will probably discover it, but by then it would be too late for Reborn and his companions.
'You think too small.'
Reborn snapped a glare those words; his raven black eyes narrowing.
Kamikawa's feathers ruffled, this time in amusement. 'You think too small.' The words were repeated in the air. 'Ask your last question. Then, no more.'
Reborn frowned. One last question. What could he ask? Only one popped into his mind. He doubted Kamikawa would know it, since it was not information that would be recorded in a book. But it never hurt to ask. "I want to leave the Spirit World as soon as possible. Where is the god I have to face?"
'Area: Lonely Mountain.'
Warehouse
"This makes 50, Kinkan-sensei. We are still waiting on results for another seven."
"Excellent. Have all the teams reported in?"
"Not yet, sir. Team D and E who are stationed in Namimori are scouting out one last target."
"It never hurts to have extras. Prep the operation room. I have received an offer if a kidney can be delivered tonight. We'll begin in the meantime."
Engetsu
Reborn froze. He was pinned to the ground by a seven tail silver kitsune. Said kitsune was sniffing and pawing at Reborn's black jacket, in search for something.
Ah. The inarizushi. If Reborn remembered correctly inarizushi was a kitsune's favorite type of food. Perhaps he could bargain with the kitsune for directions to the Lonely Mountain? Wait kitsunes were trickster types though. Should Reborn chance it?
Anything worth doing had risks.
"If you lead me to the Area: Lonely Mountain, I'll give you the inarizushi I have on me," Reborn said.
The kitsune stepped off of Reborn. Its head tilted to the side, evaluating Reborn's words. The seven tails swung in time with the wind that whistled through the dark woods that Reborn had found himself in.
Suddenly, the kitsune swung its head to the right; its large silver ears twitched. Its hackles raised and a low growl was let loose.
Reborn looked in the direction the kitsune was looking at. A chill ran down his spine as his ears strained to pick up a song being sung in the distance. A deep baritone voice; dark and ominous twisting words.
Come wayward souls,
Who wander through the darkness,
There is a light for the lost and the meek.
Sorrow and fear,
The kitsune nudged Reborn, ushering the hitman to stand. It tugged at Reborn's pants; its tails twitching in nervous energy.
Sweat rolled down Reborn's face. "Something dangerous is down there, isn't there?" he asked the kitsune, climbing to his feet. His own instincts told him to run away. Never had Reborn's own instincts rang so loudly like that.
The kitsune nodded.
Are easily forgotten,
When you submit to the soil of the earth.
The song was getting closer. Shit. Okay, he needed to get out of here now. "Which way?" Reborn asked.
The kitsune took off. The soft moonlight glow that surrounded its body, dulled and muted, barely lighting the pathway. Reborn followed after it, weaving through the shadows and towering trees. The song faded away and the chills dwindled away.
They burst into a clearing. At the center was a moonbeam illuminated a rabbit hole. The kitsune circled the rabbit hole, looking at Reborn with an expected look. Reborn tugged at his fedora in indignation. "Down the rabbit hole huh?"
The kitsune gave a small huff of exasperation and dove down the hole.
"Might as well play Alice in this Wonderland," Reborn remarked, jumping in.
Breathe
Tsuna sat up, the blanket falling off of him as he rubbed his eyes. The red light of his alarm clock alerted him that it was just after one in the morning. There was a heavy weight pressing down on his head, most likely Leon had crawled into his hair again and was sleeping. When had he fallen asleep?
Tsuna winced at the memory of the conversation he had with Reborn before he passed out. Right. That conversation. He bit his lip, worried. As he expected, facing the memories of those times was something Tsuna was not ready to do. He shook his head slightly, trying to clear the depressing thoughts.
Blearily, Tsuna glanced at the corner that Reborn had most likely set up his hammock in. Ever since Ienari had gone into the hospital, Reborn had taken to sleeping in Tsuna's room.
Rocking gently, Reborn slept soundly. To Tsuna's surprise the ever present sleep bubble was missing. That probably meant that Reborn was actually awake. "Reborn?" Tsuna called out softly.
No answer.
The dark clouds in the sky rolled away, allowing the moonlight to pierce Tsuna's room. Brown eyes widened at the lack of the rise and fall of the chest. Tsuna scrambled out of his bed.
"Reborn!"
The Lonely Mountain
A bright yellow sun hung in the sky. Reborn looked up at the grand, majestic mountain that pierced the sky; its peak obscured by the white clouds. The sky was a pure, clean, vibrant blue color and a fierce gale blew.
Hand gripping tight to his fedora, Reborn looked down at the kitsune. Its tails waved as it pawed at Reborn's shoes. The soft glow around the kitsune practically vibrated with energy. "Is this the Lonely Mountain?" Reborn asked.
The kitsune nodded its head before standing on its hind legs, leaning its front legs against Reborn's chest.
With a chuckle, Reborn pulled out the purple bag of inarizushi from the pocket inside his jacket. "Thank you," he said. Despite Zephyr had told him originally, it seemed Reborn had a string of good luck when it came to the Spirit World. (Mostly) Every spirit he had encountered had been friendly and helpful.
The kitsune peered at the package before lighting four silver fox flames. The flames swirled before condensing into four silver orbs. Three floated over to Reborn's open hand.
"Why are you giving me these?" Reborn asked, grasping the three orbs.
The kitsune pointed its snout to the inarizushi.
"Payment for the rest of the inarizushi," Reborn said in understanding. Equivalent exchange. The amount of inarizushi was apparently more than showing Reborn the way to the Lonely Mountain. So the silver kitsune was making up the difference. He examined the three orbs. About half the size of a tennis ball, the surface of the orbs was smooth and cool to the touch as if they were made of real silver. "What do they do?"
The last orb floated over to a pile of rocks. The orb was crushed and instantly the rocks hovered off the ground, weightless.
"Gravity manipulation," Reborn said, impressed. He didn't know kitsunes could have such an ability. The legends spoke of illusions and shapeshifters, but this was something else. Or perhaps this was something all kitsunes gained as they got older? Seven tails implied that kitsune next to him was fairly powerful. The more tails the stronger the kitsune.
The silver kitsune preened at the compliment. Then it spread its seven tails, fox flames lighting up at the tip of each tail. The flames flew, surrounding Reborn, spinning faster and faster until they were a single ring around. Before Reborn could ask what was happening, he was launched into the air.
Yatagarasu (Defeat Me!)
Reborn cursed as he flew past the clouds and upwards the peak of the Lonely Mountain. He showed no sign of stopping at the peak drew closer and closer. How was he supposed to stop?
Then suddenly he came to a complete halt.
"Engetsu launched you all the way up here, huh?"
Reborn twisted around to find Zephyr hovering next to him. Wind gyrated around them, keeping them both afloat.
Irritation bubbled in Reborn. "If you knew where I had to go, why didn't you say so in the first place!" he snarled.
"Is that any way to be talking to someone who caught you?" Zephyr asked.
Before Reborn could retort back, a loud 'Kyaaa' was heard. Bursting forth from the white clouds, flew a large black crow with three legs. Its wingspan was easily larger than an eight story building. A sun crest rested on its chest, tied with a white ribbon that fluttered behind in the wind.
Zephyr quickly held his hands up in surrender, dropping Reborn onto the unstable slope of the Lonely Mountain. "You pissed off a Yatagarasu?" Zephyr asked in despair. "You might have spat at Amaterasu-sama. It was nice knowing you, Reborn."
Reborn merely scowled. A sharp wind blew "What's the price if I want you to help me?"
"Can't. It won't matter," Zephyr said. Another loud kyaa filled the air. "He said this will be a one on one fight. You will be returned to the Real World if you manage to land a hit on him." Zephyr gave Reborn a sympathetic look. "Sorry, but you're on your own," he said, vanishing in a gust of wind.
Reborn grimaced and before dropping his fedora down to the ground, held in place by a rock. With the wind speeds blowing up here, it wouldn't stay very long on his head. He pulled out a gun, checking to see that he had a full clip of bullets loaded. With a light pat, he felt the three silver orbs the kitsune had given him in his pants pocket.
Reborn took aim, firing off his first bullet. As expected the Yatagarasu dodged it, spinning into a barrel roll. Bright dots began to gather around the Yatagarasu before a rain of light beams showered down at Reborn. Reborn threw up his arms to shield his eyes, weaving in between the light beams. With a powerful flap of his wings, the Yatagarasu sent Reborn flying off the slope of the mountain.
Reborn clicked his tongue in frustration. Why did everyone in this Spirit World insist on launching him into the air? He pulled out one of the silver orbs, crushing it as he slowed to a suspended stop. Reborn swallowed, looking down to see the ground miles and miles below him. He only had two more orbs, if he failed to land a hit on the Yatagarasu before he ran out of orbs, there was no doubt the three legged crow would launch him into the air again and Reborn would plummet to his death.
Before he could do anything, the Yatagarasu tackled him in the air, slamming him into the rocky side. He grit his teeth in pain as sharp rocks embedded itself into his backside, leaving a deep trench into the dirt. Reborn spat some blood to the side; his lip had been cut. The Yatagarasu flew high in the sky, circling the mountain.
How did one fight a god?
Reborn struggled to stand, feeling wobbly. He hissed as a sharp pain ran rampant through his body. Being slammed into the ground by the Yatagarasu was like being hit by a train traveling over 150 miles per hour. His Sun Flames flared to life, healing his wounds.
Just as they were healed, the Yatagarasu began his next attack. This time, the shadows of the trench Reborn's landing had created surged up like a tidal wave. Reborn turned, Sun Flames gathering at the tip of his gun as he fired. "Chaos Shot."
The yellow arrows split off, piercing the shadows and creating a gap large enough for Reborn to slip through. Twisting his body in the air as he passed through the wave of shadows, Reborn turned to fire another bullet into the ground, and one more at the Yatagarasu. A light barrier flickered to life around the Yatagarasu, deflecting the bullet.
The Yatagarasu flapped its wings, creating another powerful gust of wind that knocked Reborn off the slope once more. Reborn looked around, calculations whirling in his head as the last gust of wind had dislodged several large chunks of rocks into the air as well. The trajectories coincided, and Reborn knew he had a small window.
"Chaos Shot," Reborn called once more as the bullet he had previously fired into the ground launched itself up at Yatagarasu. The three legged crow moved to dodge the bullet as Reborn crushed another silver orb, slowing his momentum and the boulders around him. Reborn pushed off one of the boulders, launching him back the Yatagarasu.
The Yatagarasu gave another cry to the sky. Bright dots flickered around him, gathering energy for another light beam attack. Before they could launch, Reborn crushed the last silver orb. The Yatagarasu gave a confused coo as gravity reversed around them. Reborn used that small window of confusion to fire off another Sun Flame charged Chaos Shot.
Yellow arrows of light flew at the Yatagarasu. A ringing Kyaaa shattered through the air as the rain of light beams fired and the sky was filled with a blinding light.
All was quiet.
Aware that he was now on the rocky slope of the mountain once more, Reborn blinked rapidly, trying to see. His gun was still held loosely in his hands, ears keened to any sound.
Eventually the dark spots in his eyes faded away and the dust settled. A dark shadow loomed over Reborn. "Shit," the hitman cursed. Standing above him was the Yatagarasu. The sun crest was dropped into Reborn's lap.
"Congratulations. It seems you survived."
Reborn turned to see Zephyr sitting on the slope above him. The black haired spirit grinned. "He acknowledges your strength. He's presenting you the Sun Crest as proof that you've won. The portals will now allow you back into the Real World."
The Yatagarasu stretched its wings and took to the sky with several powerful flaps. It vanished into the sea of clouds, the Kyaaa fading away in the distance.
Reborn groaned, letting his body relax. Everything ached, even with his Sun Flames healing his wounds in overtime. A small bubble of hysteria formed deep within him at the thought that he had just faced a god and lived to tell the tale. How was this his life? Even with the mafia, Dying Will Flames and magical bullets made this seem like a fanatical tale. At least Dying Will Flames made some logical sense and none of this Spirit World, Gods and teleporting areas.
"How do I get out of here?" Reborn asked, tiredly. He just wanted to go back home and sleep for days.
Zephyr stared down at him, his head tilted with curiosity. "I wonder if they'll catch you."
Reborn barely had any time to react before a tornado swept him off his feet and launched him into the air. He plunged pass the sea of white clouds, falling and falling and falling.
'Shit,' Reborn thought. 'So this is how I die.'
His vision blurred as his consciousness teetered on the brink of wakefulness. The last thing he heard was the fluttering of wings and something shiny out of the corner of his eye.
Then darkness.
When Lightning Strikes
Hayato stumbled out of his apartment just as the sun rose over the horizon. He needed to pick up some things from the store, restock on some dynamite and look for a more stable job than the crap one he had currently. All before school started.
He walked down the empty street when the clattering of trashcans and shouts caught his attention. Hayato looked down alleyway to see a group of five men with the broken fairy wing emblem on their shirts attacking a small boy in cow print.
"Let me go!" The child cried out. "Let me go!"
"Be careful! This kid is carrying some weird stuff, bombs!" shouted one of the men.
"Stop squirming you brat!" another man cried out, punching the kid in the stomach. "Quick get the chloroform!"
"HEY!" Hayato said, storming into the alleyway. "Leave him alone!"
Before he could pull out his dynamite, something heavy crashed into the back of his head. Hayato stumbled, falling to the ground. 'There was one more,' he realized too late.
The world turned to black.
-stuffs as many references as I possibly could into this chapter- -did you catch them all?-
\o/ I wrote a chapter without Ienari or Ayame. But yes, you guys were right, the crow was important (but it was still innocent!) and Reborn has taken a trip into the Spirit World. And uh oh, Gokudera and Lambo are in big trouble. The Yousei Arc will come to end next chapter (hopefully).
Yatagarasu – three legged crow. Symbolic of guidance or divine intervention in human affairs. Often associated with Sun.
Guest Reviewers Response
Guest (Chapter 3 – 6/28)
Nope, not a dragon.
HeartofStone
"ψ(｀∇´)ψ Don't worry you'll find out eventually. Lots and lots of foreshadowing everywhere. But I like cliffys! It's easier to get through the day knowing your tears are giving me energy –bricked-