Trigger: N/A
Warnings: Covering Mukuro and Chrome's past: human experimentation and child abuse/neglect briefly mentioned.
Important Stuff:
Small OC Cheat Sheet
Spirits:
Zephyr -The wind spirit that Reborn met in the Spirit World.
Kamikawa - The origami spirit that Reborn exchanged information with.
Engetsu - Silver kitsune that Reborn met in the Spirit World. Knows Ayame.
Meishi - A green falcon that lives in the Sawada Household
Ienari's Guardians
Matsushita Hachirou - Ienari's best friend. Captain of the Judo Club. Lightning Guardian
Akemi Kaori - President of Ienari's fanclub. Black Hair, Purple Eyes.
Kakusu Hideki - Former student council president, son of politician. Red Rimmed Glasses.
Koujin Fuun - Ninja assassin. Dark purple hair, crimson eyes. Kunais as weapons.
Inmen Hisen - Mochida's cousin. Ienari's crush. Hime-cut black hair and ocean blue eyes.
-excited- I love you guys. At 1163 favs, 1286 alerts and 510 reviews, this story is almost #1 in stats of all my stories. Thank you so much!
A Happy Dream
Mukuro woke to a happy scene. The pain he had been suffering the last several weeks had faded away, leaving him exhausted. He stood, wavering slightly as he regained his balance.
It was a different house.
Gone was the small apartment that Mukuro had been at previously. Instead, a white spacious living room took its place. Pillars of marble supported the high ceiling, ivory handles on the doors and a curved stairway that led to a second floor.
The sound of chatter drew Mukuro's attention. Quietly he slipped into the dining room to find a large Maple tree table and three place settings on fine China dishes. Around the table were a family of three, a mother, a father and a daughter.
"Chrome," Mukuro said quietly, observing the scene.
"Nagi-chan how was school today?" the father asked.
Chrome smiled brightly. Her eyepatch gone, revealing perfect matched purple eye. Her long purple hair was loose, spilling down her back. She wore a pretty pink dress. "School was great, Tousan," she answered.
"Ah, that's my sweet Nagi-chan," her mother said, reaching out to lightly pinch Chrome's cheek.
"Kaasan!" Chrome protested, but her smile only grew wider.
Mukuro on the other hand frowned. 'Nagi?' he thought. 'Her name is Chrome.'
The scene melted away, switching to a playground and a six year old Chrome being pushed on the swings by her father.
"Higher, higher!" Chrome said with a gleeful cheer.
The scene continued to switch, showing a Chrome of all different ages, smiling and laughing and surrounded by her obviously loving pattern.
Mukuro scowled; his fists tightening. What a mocking picture being shown to him. Was it to highlight his own twisted past, how he had never had a loving family?
He watched as Chrome showed her mother her 100 on her last test, beaming smiles everywhere. Mukuro snarled. "What a farce."
Then the image changed.
-Slap!-
"You stupid girl! I don't have time to look at your silly test!" her mother shouted.
Chrome looked up at her mother with wide eyes, tears threatening to fall. She held her red cheek and ran away.
"What?" Mukuro said, as the scene switched once more to a happy family.
A birthday party this time. Full of light, laughter and joy. Family members gathered around the table as a large cake was set in front of eight year old Chrome. It looked happy and fun.
"Che." Mukuro clicked his tongue in annoyance. So not a memory, but not quite an illusion either. A dream perhaps? But if it's a dream, why hadn't Chrome broken out of it? She should have recognized that what she was dreaming was false. Such a waste of talent. He knew she had the ability. Her Mist Flames had been beautifully lit. While not as strong as his, they were purer than anything Mist Flames Mukuro had encountered.
Still, he had no idea how he had gotten here. If this was a dream, it would stand to reason that Chrome would need to wake in order to leave this place.
"Wake up," he commanded.
The image withdrew, leaving behind a cold and empty dining room. Gone were the smiling faces of friends and family, leaving behind a fourteen year old Chrome with a single slice of cake sitting in front of her.
"Chrome," Mukuro said.
Chrome looked up from her seat, eyepatch back in place. Her single purple eye watering slightly. "Mukuro-san," she greeted.
Mukuro felt the illusion start to piece itself back together. That wouldn't do. "Who is Nagi?" he asked.
"Nagi is a girl no one wanted," Chrome said.
The scene faded away into a hospital. Both Mukuro and Chrome watched as Nagi laid trapped in a hospital bed.
"It's going to cost what?!" her mother shouted.
"The girl can just die then!" her father yelled.
"We don't want her!" they screamed together.
"Not a happy family," Mukuro said, with a touch of sympathy. Just another unwanted person, broken and abused. What more proof was needed that the world was cruel and empty place?
"No," Chrome said sadly. "I always wanted one." She looked at the images of her parents, anger and full of rage with a hint of wistfulness.
"And… how did Nagi become Chrome?" Mukuro asked.
The scenery shifted to show Ayame sitting at Nagi's bedside. The EKG machines beeped slowly, the rise and fall of the lines. Bloodied bandages crisscrossed Nagi's body; life support was currently the only thing keeping her alive.
"Do you want to live Nagi-chan?" Ayame asked in seriousness. "Do you want to come with me?"
"Ayame-nee offered me a home and I took it," Chrome said.
'Hmmm so that explains why Ayame is so protective of her,' Mukuro thought. He could use that. There were too many variables in Namimori. It was obvious that Ayame was meant to be their jailor and despite her insistence on dropping them at the Sawada Household for meals, Mukuro was no closer to possessing Sawada Ienari for his plans. But possessing Chrome, she might become a useful hostage later down the road.
But here, in this dream world, whatever that strange energy protecting Chrome most likely didn't follow her here. It was should be easy enough to slip past whatever protection and bury the tiniest amount of Mist Flames. Just enough to control her…
Mukuro leaned forward, hand out. His Mist Flames danced on his fingers; a gleam of power reflected in his red eye.
And the world turned to black.
A Nightmare
Chrome jumped, startled as her world turned to black. She gasped as the scene settled into something from a horror movie. Sterile white walls, beds with restraints, and the smell of chemicals in the air. The coppery taste of blood and the echoing screams. She swallowed, stepping back as she looked around.
That was when she saw Mukuro.
Eight year old Mukuro strapped down to a table screaming as they cut into his body.
Bile rose in the back of her throat. Chrome choked as she watched scientists carry out experiments on Mukuro's body. She knew this was his history; Ayame had sat her down to explain it to her, but it was one thing to know, another thing to see it happen before her eyes.
"No!" Chrome said, running forward.
She passed through the scientists as if she was a ghost as the scene shifted once more. This time she saw them shocked Ken with electricity to increase his pain tolerance, as they tattooed the barcode onto Chikusa cheek. Chrome watched as other children, other experiments were forced to do horrible, horrible things, watched as the bodies of those who died continued to grow.
"Experiment C-1023 has failed. Decommission him and scrub the environment clean, then bring in C-1024."
Chrome watched as the scientists took a scalpel to Mukuro's right eye. She trembled, body shaking as she watched them remove Mukuro's eye and implant a new one. Her hands covered her ears as Mukuro's scream echoed off the walls.
Then finally, to her relief, the scene melted away.
That relief was short lived.
"Who are you?" child Mukuro asked flatly.
The thick bandage around his right eye was a cruel reminder of what had just happened to him. Chrome tried not to flinch. She glanced around the white walls of the room, seeing that it was sealed with no windows. A thick metal door kept them prisoner. A bed in the corner was the only object in the room.
'This is a dream, a memory,' she told herself. This may have happened in the past, but it was not happening right now. Mukuro, no matter his reasons, had drawn her out of the false dream of a happy family. She would draw him out of this nightmare.
"Chrome," she introduced herself with a smile. "Hello, Mukuro-san."
Child Mukuro glowered at her; his lips twisting into a sneer. "What do you want?"
Chrome hesitated, wondering how she could draw Mukuro out of his nightmare. He most likely wouldn't believe her if she had just told him that it was a nightmare. It looked like a nightmare, but it also could be a nightmare.
"Nothing," she said. "Is your eye alright?"
Child Mukuro gently rested a hand on the bandages. He hissed upon doing so. "Did they take your eye too?" he asked, deflecting Chrome's question.
"No," Chrome answered. "I lost mine in a car accident."
"You're not a scientist," Child Mukuro stated, warily.
"No, I'm not," Chrome said. "I'm not going to hurt you."
It was easy to see that Child Mukuro didn't believe her. Chrome didn't blame him.
The door clanged as it was opened and a guard stepped inside the room. Chrome stood, standing between the guard and Child Mukuro.
"Who are you?" the guard shouted.
Chrome smiled and with a wave of her hand, she casted an illusion to make it seem like she and Child Mukuro had disappeared from the room. She snatched up Child Mukuro and darted out of the room.
"Where are you taking me?" Mukuro demanded to know.
"We're escaping," Chrome said. If they got away, that would be enough right?
"Why?"
That was a heavy word. Chrome could hear all of Child Mukuro's unsaid questions behind that single why. Why did she save him? Why was she helping him? Why did she care? Questions she asked herself constantly. Questions she could have asked him. Mukuro didn't have to break her from her happy dream, but he did. Maybe he thought he couldn't escape unless she was aware, or maybe, as Ayame had warned her, maybe he wanted to use her as a pawn. But the important thing was that he did, when he didn't have to.
That was enough for Chrome. No matter his reasons, for a brief moment Mukuro wanted Chrome for something.
This was the least she could do to return the favor.
"Because it's the right thing to do," she murmured. "Because you have people waiting for you, Ken and Chikusa remember?" She gently weaved through the scientists as the alarms went off, alerting the entire building of her and Child Mukuro's escape.
"What about you?" Child Mukuro asked.
Chrome hesitated. There wasn't a real way to describe their relationship. Enemies? Prisoner and Jailer? None of them quite fit right and despite whatever attempt of cordial gestures Chrome had made before were met with a cold wall. (And Chrome was so tired of meeting that cold wall. She just wanted people to accept her for who she was!)
She smiled gently. "Whatever you want me to be to you," she answered. Mukuro would be the one to decide whether it would be friendships, a chess game of pawn and chessmaster, or just simple acquaintances who just lived together.
With one last turn down another corridor, they were outside. The scene changed once more, sweeping away the fenced entrance of the Estraneo Lab. Gone was the concrete, the building and dark night sky. In its place, was just an empty sea of gray grass and sky at twilight with a black moon locked in the right side of the sky and white sun locked in the left.
Chrome set down Child Mukuro, watching as he shifted back to his teenage self. He clutched his right eye and glared at her.
"You…" Mukuro said.
Whatever he was going to say was interrupted as the space distorted. From the distortion two creatures appeared. Tapirs, one was black and one was white.
'Congratulations,' the duality of voices echoed in Chrome's head. Judging from Mukuro's expression, he could hear it too.
'You have both passed our tests. Worthy we find you.'
"Tests?" Chrome asked. This was a test? For what reason?
"Worthy of what?" Mukuro demanded.
'In due time,' the voices echoed. The tapirs raised the staffs they were carrying.
'Now sleep.'
And Chrome knew nothing more.
Defense
Kyoya scowled and wiped away the blood from his cheek. He surveyed his work, a group of ten men bearing the Triad's crest laid unconscious on the ground. Gray eyes narrowed. It wasn't like the Omnivore to let so many Triads gather in Namimori.
"Those who disturb Namimori will be bitten to death."
Deceiving Mist
Hideki pushed his red rimmed glasses up with his right hand as indigo flames danced around his left hand. "Interesting. So this is Mist Flames?" he said. It had been surprisingly easy to activate the Dying Will Flames.
"That's no fair," Matsushita complained. "It took me months to light my flames and you can do it after a couple days!"
Koujin scoffed from his position against the window. "Mist Flame Users are usually the first type of people to activate their Flames," he explained. "Even without their ties to the Underground World, there are people who subconsciously can use their Mist Flames."
"What can they do?" Hideki asked.
"Illusions," Koujin answered.
Hideki smiled. Well, that was interesting. He could wait to test that out.
Assault
"We should focus here," Hisen said, pointing to the southwest corner of Namimori. She was bent over a large map in the war room.
"That's the heart of the Yakuza territory," Kensuke pointed out. "Shouldn't we focus on the west side where their hold is weaker?"
Ienari looked at his crush and her cousin, slightly amused. Surprisingly, his friends took the knowledge that Ienari was a heir to a mafia famiglia with ease. Even more, they had all decided to treat Namimori as a practice run. It should in theory be easy to take over Namimori's territory. There was only one major Yakuza group in the town: Momokyokai and they were a small group all things considered.
"I've got news," Kaori said cheerfully, bouncing into the room. "According to Satsuki-chan there is a weird gang of Chinese men that are lurking around Namimori. Mimi-chan reported that most likely they aren't Momokyokai because they got into a small scuffle with known Momokyokai members. They are definitely a lot more dangerous."
"Is there anything in this town that you don't know?" Kensuke asked.
"It's impressive, Akemi-san," Hisen said. "Your information network probably rivals our esteemed prefect's Disciplinary Committee."
Ienari shuddered. Fangirls. He was not surprised by Kaori's information network at all. He shoved those thoughts aside.
"So we got another group that's trying to invade Namimori then," Ienari said thoughtfully. "I say we take them out first. They are probably still trying to establish themselves."
He froze, remembering Reborn's lessons and his own foolishness against the Vindice. "But we should confirm their identities first. Namimori is just a small town, there's no reason why a group would be trying to establish here. They may be part of a bigger group and we aren't strong enough yet to take on a large group."
"Good idea," Hisen said. "With the club members who are interested in joining, we are currently only 22 strong. The rest are too weak or live in fear of the Skylark."
"More members, information on the new group and we'll steadily build our group," Ienari agreed. "Let's get to work."
Sight
Mukuro woke to the feeling of something squashing him. It was not uncomfortable, rather the opposite, much like a puzzle piece that clicked together. Groaning softly, he struggled to open his eyes.
The first thing he noticed was Chrome was lying on top of him. Tears ran down her face and Mukuro became aware of the wet patch on his shirt. The next thing he noticed was that his vision had been blocked. The familiar presence of a bandage over his right eye was back in place.
He reached up to remove it only to get his hand slapped away.
"Don't you dare remove it!"
Mukuro turned his head. There in his blindspot sat an angry Ayame. He could feel the frustration rolling off of her, the dark circles under her eyes made her look like an angry demon.
"Don't move," she hissed. "I don't need you collapsing again!"
"Collapse?" Mukuro asked, dazed.
"Mukuro-sama," Chikusa mumbled softly. Mukuro spotted him and Ken standing just a few away. Even Lancia looked concerned.
"Yes," Ayame snapped. "Collapse! When were you going to mention you were having headaches and seeing things that weren't physically there?"
"Why do you care?" Mukuro asked bitterly.
"Because someone has to!" Ayame sniped back. She grit her teeth. "Incase you haven't noticed, I've been a bit distracted so unless you tell me something is wrong, there isn't anything I can do, you idiot!"
"And what could you have helped with?" Mukuro hissed back. "You understand nothing."
"What don't I understand?" Ayame shot back. "The vibrant colors that Namimori glows, so bright it's like staring into the sun? Strings and songs that no one can see or hear? Little Kasumi-chan, dead by her father's hands who haunts the alleyway where her body had been disposed?"
"What?" Mukuro croaked out. That exactly was what he had been seeing lately.
"Kasumi-chan?" Lancia asked in quiet horror.
Ayame scowled harder. Then, her expression softening, she brushed Chrome's bangs. "How are you feeling Chrome?"
"Ayame-nee," she muttered.
"Don't move," Ayame said softly. "Mukuro-san will keep you anchored and vice versa."
"What's wrong with them?" Ken demanded to know.
Ayame shot him a glare. Then she ran a hand through her bangs and gave a heavy sigh. "It's called the Sight, though the more you learn about you'll find that's a small misconception," she explained. "Sight refers to the ability to see the different planes of the world. The ability varies from person to person."
Ayame paused to collect her thoughts. "Of course, despite its name, it isn't solely limited to just your vision. A stronger Sight means you can hear spirits talking to you, you can physically touch them, speak to them, eat their food, smell the flowers that grow only in the Spirit World, and so forth."
"Spirit World?" Mukuro asked.
"Think of it like a layered cake," Ayame said. "Thanks to that eye of yours, you know Hell exists. That's the bottom layer. The next layer is the one world we live on, the Physical Plane. The Spirit World is the layer above. The top most layer is Heaven. It is of course vastly more complicated than that, but you should get the general gist. So yes, ghosts, demons, angels, spirits, gods and goddesses, they are all real and you have gained the ability to do interact with them to some degree."
"Because of my Six Paths of Reincarnation," Mukuro said flatly. He never had this problem before. There weren't any ghosts that followed him in Italy or when he first arrived in Japan.
Ayame shrugged. "If you aren't born with the ability or don't spend a lot of time in the presence of spirits, the fastest way to gain the ability is to be at Death's Door and survive. But considering you went through reincarnation six times, it stands to reason that your Sight is a little more powerful than someone who nearly died. Coming to Namimori which has become spiritually charged is the equivalent of jumping starting your ability with ten times a shock than necessary."
So, his eye had given him another ability. This might have some benefits. If he could convince ghosts and spirits to work for him, to do his dirty work, no one would ever see them coming if the ability was on the rare side. Mukuro could work with that.
"How do I control it?" Mukuro asked.
"Meditation."
What?
Ayame grinned evilly. "Lots and lots of meditation. Preferably under a waterfall, but we're short of one in here in Namimori. Most people train to make their Sight stronger. You? You have to do the opposite, and off the top of my head, there have only been about five recorded cases of that happening. If you want my help though, you're going to have to wait until I'm less… exhausted."
She must be joking. Mukuro stared at her in disbelief.
Ayame gave him and Chrome another survey. "Alright, I think you two can sit up now."
"If Mukuro-sama collapsed because of his eye," Ken asked. "Why did she collapse too?"
Silence fell.
"Neesan?" Chrome asked when Ayame failed to answer Ken's question.
"Resonance," she said simply, offering no other explanation. A resigned look crossed her face.
What did that even mean? Mukuro made a soft 'che' noise. Namimori was turning out to be far more complicated than expected.
"Lancia-san, please bring that table here? Chikusa-san the orange box on the bookcase, please," Ayame said. Looking at Mukuro, she pointed to the bandage around his head. "You can take off your bandage for now. I need to test how strong your Sight is, but once that is done, it goes back on for another 24 hours. You need rest."
Lancia brought over the table as Chikusa handed the orange box to Ayame. She nodded her thanks and Chrome had helped Mukuro undo the bandage. Ayame scattered several objects onto the table.
It was an odd assortment of knick knacks, Mukuro surveyed. An orange flower, a purple six sided die, three wooden cubes, a book, a few scraps of paper, a stuffed doll, four jars, five unrecognizable objects, one origami crane, a white feather, a claw of some sort, a music box, a ball of yarn, a flute, a whistle and a chain.
"How many objects do you see on the table?" Ayame asked.
"Twenty seven," Mukuro answered.
There was startle gasp from everyone else in the room. Mukuro frowned. Why were they surprised about that?
The only person who didn't look surprised was Ayame. Ayame continued her questioning, asking him mundane and obvious questions like what color was the die, could he pick up the doll or could he read the first line in the book.
"What exactly does this prove?" Mukuro asked, finally fed up with the questions.
Ayame snorted. "Chrome how many objects on the table do you see?"
Chrome looked nervously between Mukuro and Ayame. "Fifteen," she said.
"Ken-san, how many objects on the table do you see?" Ayame asked.
"Two," the blond said.
Ayame held up the orange wooden block. "What color paint is this block?"
"Orange," Chrome and Mukuro chorused together.
Ken, on the other hand said, "There isn't any color, it's just raw wood."
Ayame nodded. "The block itself is on the physical plane, but the paint color, that comes the Spirit World's frequency. In other words, you both can see Spirits, Ken-san cannot."
She tapped the table. "The general average for Sight is somewhere between five to ten for this test." Ayame gave Chrome a soft smile. "You're a bit higher than average Chrome, which is fine. It's happened before. On the other hand, Mukuro-san here has over three times the average. Put the bandage back on."
"Why can't I just close my eye?" Mukuro asked. He didn't like the weight of the bandage over his eye.
"No," Ayame said, annoyed. "I wove the spells onto the bandage, not onto your skin. They'll dampen your Sight so you can actually rest. Unless you want the headaches to come back?"
No. No, he did not. Mukuro tied the bandage back around his head. He pondered what was revealed to him. Spells huh? So was that Ayame's ability. A spiritualist who specialized in spells. Onmyoji he believed was the correct term. If she could dampen the Sight, she could probably restrain all of his eye's abilities.
So this was the reason why Sawada Tsunayoshi had turned them over to her.
He underestimated how cunning the boy could be.
Wait a minute.
"How many objects were on the table?" Mukuro asked as Ayame placed the box back on the shelf.
She glanced at him, over her shoulder. A feeling of frost crept along the edges of the tense atmosphere. Finally, Ayame closed her eyes and softly sighed. "Forty one and research indicates there are over fifty different planes."
A stunned silence fell over the room. Ayame ignored it, huffing it slightly. "I have to get back to work," she said. "Try and behave while I'm gone. Chrome if you feel light headed or sick, head to Ryohei's. Drag Mukuro there if you feel he's feeling sick too, since I know he won't take care of himself."
Mukuro sneered at her. He was not a child!
Ayame ignored it and waved as she left.
Escalation
Ayame didn't make it back to the office.
Instead, Tsuna was waiting for her outside of the apartment building. He was leaning against the concrete wall that separated the apartment building from the sidewalk.
"Neesan," Tsuna said.
Ayame took a moment to survey Tsuna. He was tense like a wounded up wire ready to break under just the right amount of pressure; his lips pursed and brows furrowed. She merely shook her head. "What's wrong Tsuna?" she asked, unable to keep the exhaustion out of her voice. She rubbed her temples, fighting off a pounding headache. Their fight (well more like Tsuna was angry at her and Ayame could admit she had been moping as a result) had gone for far too long. Exhaustion lingered, she hadn't been able to sleep more than an hour or two at a time since and it was wearing on her.
"I can't, Neesan," Tsuna whispered so softly that she had to strain her ears to him. "How can you ask me to kill you?"
Oh.
And here she thought the issue was because Tsuna didn't like that she had turned his life upside down (again) without his permission. Okay. She could deal with this. It really wasn't that big of a deal.
"It's just a contingency plan Tsuna," Ayame said. "You-"
"Why is it even a contingency plan in the first place!" Tsuna shrieked.
"Because there's precedent," Ayame replied tiredly. People fear so easily.
"What?" Tsuna said in disbelief. "No, that's impossible."
She gave him a humorless grin. "Tsuna, what exactly did you find about Sinapri?" she asked, curious. Originally, Ayame thought Tsuna had discovered all the details about Sinapri. But given his reaction, maybe he only scratched the surface.
Tsuna looked thrown by her question. He recovered and answered. "You got kidnapped when you were ten and killed your kidnappers in the process of escaping."
Ayame closed her eyes. She lost herself in the memories of water, fire and darkness. The echoing screams that still seem to ring in her ears if she listened hard enough. The rage and dark whispers of justice that made her blood boil. "Oh Tsuna," she said. "That doesn't even begin to cover that story. Tsuna, Sinapri doesn't exist."
"What?" Tsuna asked, confused.
"The Underworld have denied Sinapri's for centuries," Ayame said, looking away. "It was a breeding ground of pirates, the black market, slave rings and whatnots. There were supposedly over 300 people who lived on that island, all working under a man who called himself the Undertaker. An island of disease and death."
"Governments have been looking for its existence, trying to shut it down. I didn't know it at the time, but I suspect Mist Flames had a hand in hiding it from view. For the most though, Sinapri was a myth, a ghost story to scare sailors and children. But it physically did exist as a small island off the coast of Italy."
Ayame remembered that island well. It was drenched in darkness and the smell of rot. The screams and pleas of the innocent victims so loud that it was deafening. Their souls trapped an eternal hell.
"Except today if you were to go the exact coordinates of where Sinapri is suppose to be, there is nothing there," Ayame said tiredly. She felt so old.
"I don't understand," Tsuna said.
"Sinapri use to physically exist," Ayame said carefully. "It no longer physically exist. Tsuna, I wiped that island and all of its inhabitants off the face of the earth."
Tsuna stared at her, eyes wide and mouth gaped. "But how?" he asked faintly.
Ayame sighed. Then, flatly she said, "They took Asher and that was the breaking point. It was one thing to kidnap me, it was another to kidnap my best friend and hurt him."
If she was being honest, the only regret Ayame had regarding Sinapri was that she waited until that bastard had drawn Asher's blood before her power exploded outward. It rained blood after that. The fallout, however, had been excruciating. All she remembered in the direct aftermath was Koumei's emotionless expression, Tier's cold logic, Asher's fear and the encompassing desire to burn everything to the ground.
'With great power comes great responsibility,' Ayame thought bitterly. Tsuna would not be the first person she would have to burden with that particular contingency plan. No, Tier and Asher held that honor before him. With them gone, there were people, governments, who sat nervously at the mere thought that Ayame was running around with a leash. It was not surprising that they jumped at making Tsuna her leash.
Inwardly, she laughed. Tsuna had been her leash for far longer than anyone knew. But he was also her anchor. If she reacted that badly to Asher getting hurt, it would pale in comparison to what she would do if anyone decided to hurt Tsuna. Ah, well. They would figure it out eventually.
"So yes precedent, contingency plan," Ayame said. "But you don't have to worry because should I ever snap and go on a killing spree, you won't have to kill me because I've already taken care of it."
The second those words left her mouth, Ayame realized her mistake. Tsuna's worried and confused expression turned thunderous.
"Please tell me you didn't implant a bomb inside yourself," Tsuna hissed.
"Tsuna-" Ayame started. Tsuna was always frighteningly perceptive. He knew her well enough to know that was exactly what Ayame had done.
"You don't get to pull me back from the ledge and plan your own death at the same time!" Tsuna yelled. His warm chocolate brown eyes melted into that molten sunset orange. The air grew warm as orange flames began to flicker to life. "I can't believe you Neesan!" He took off, leaving a trail of Sky Flames.
Ayame watched as Tsuna flew off, disappearing into the white clouds. When she could no longer see him, in a fit of anger she slammed her hand into the concrete wall. It crumbled as if it was made paper. Ignoring the crackling as the wall fell, Ayame crouched down, wrapping her arms around her legs and felt the burning sensation of tears threatening to fall. Why did she have to say that? Of course, Tsuna was going to react badly to that knowledge. Now he was even more upset!
"God fucking damnit," Ayame swore miserably.
By Inari-sama, she was so tired.
Happy Valentine's Day to those of you celebrating.
Mukuro is a stubborn ass, Ienari is on the move and a more detailed explanation about Sight. Tsuna and Ayame are still fighting. A little bit about Ayame's past too. -pushes Ayame closer to the break point-
If you're interested in a Pokemon Fanzine, this is the last chance to preorder it. Preorders have been really low so we won't be ordering many, thus it'll be really limited edition. Buy it at (remove #) seiartsu.#storenvy.#com
Lastly, just FYI for you guys but my health has currently taken a turn for the worse. It's not that serious (I'm having trouble keeping food down) but it is exhausting to deal with. Combine with the writer's block (Mukuro you jerk why are you so difficult to write?!) and that's why this update is so late. I am also starting to seriously prep for my local anime con. Updates might be even slower until everything settles again but I will continue to write and update as soon as I can. Thanks for being awesome, I love all the reviews that you guys leave, they're super motivators and get me through my writer's block.
Guest Reviewer Response
Lacie - Nah I'll wrap up the Triad Arc before the Ring Battles Start. Ideally. Theoretically.
Requiem - Friday the 13th is a Western concept. I haven't had a chance to really research it (so take what I write with a grain of salt), but Japanese don't have a set 'bad luck day' like Friday the 13th. There are days that are considered to be 'bad' like you don't ask the bank for a loan on that day or never host a funeral on that day, but it's not a set date and changes every month/year. Something about it follows a 6 day cycle instead of a 7 day cycle. It's largely out of practice, but the difficulty in keeping track of it means it probably will never show up in this story. That said if Friday the 13th was something in this story, Ayame would probably take the day off and stay home, but only after she set up a barrier to keep out all the bad luck out.