Trigger: N/A
Warnings: N/A
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. Sun Guardian
Kakusu Hideki - Former student council president, son of politician. Red Rimmed Glasses. Mist Guardian
Koujin Fuun - Ninja assassin. Dark purple hair, crimson eyes. Kunais as weapons. Cloud Guardian
Inmen Hisen - Mochida's cousin. Ienari's crush. Hime-cut black hair and ocean blue eyes. Rain Guardian
Others:
Hibari Koumei - Kyoya's Father. Interpol Agent.
Hibari Yun - Kyoya's Mother. Deceased. Fon's sister.
-Five Years Ago-
Crime Level
Before Kyoya's rise into power, before Ayame's arrival, before the wards went up, Namimori wasn't exactly one of the safest towns to live in. Yakuza and petty criminals lurked in the shadows. Assassins and the likes found retirement here, for reasons unknown to many. In Vongola's presence and its enemies' shadows, in the Triad's monitoring, Namimori was a breeding ground for crime. It was not the worse town to live, but it was far from the safest.
Lightning Rolling
Tsuna was nine when he befriended Kyoko and Hana.
At nine, Tsuna was aware of who Kyoko and Hana were. They were classmates after all. Kyoko was already popular, the nicest girl that everyone wanted to be friends with. Hana was her best friend who was gaining a reputation of being an iron wall. Tsuna had always wanted to be friends with them, but had never worked up the courage to approach them. That all changed one day.
There are two things that stood out on that day. First, it was one of the top five most terrifying things to ever happen to Tsuna. (For reference, Kyoto Spring Trip was ranked fourth and his suicide attempt at age 10 was third.)
Second, it solidified how scary Ayame could be.
Tsuna had been walking down the street, feeling lighter than he had in years. The time he had spent with Ayame at her hometown had done wonders. Giotto was friend that Tsuna had to say goodbye to, but he hadn't regret meeting his great great great grandfather! (That had been fun to find out, the similarities had been so striking that Ayame had to go and research.) Nearly two weeks after summer vacation had ended and Tsuna was still walking around in a daze of happiness.
A tug of intuition drew his attention. Hyper Intuition, Giotto had explained him. There was something dangerous in that alleyway, but despite the danger something was nudging him towards the alleyway. Something important.
Tsuna peeked down alleyway and his eyes widen in horror. There were two adults looming over Kyoko and Hana.
"Help!" Kyoko screamed.
"No one can hear you girlie," the taller of the two men said, grabbing her mouth.
The smaller of the men was already holding Hana up by the collar of her blouse as Hana tried to kick her away to freedom. "Let us go!" Hana screeched, clawing at the man's hand.
"No way," the taller man said, leering at them. "You're a little young, but we can have some fun."
Tsuna had heard enough. He threw his bag at the smaller man, causing him to drop Hana. He sparked those orange flames that Giotto had tried to explain to him and managed to burn the taller one.
"This way!" Tsuna said, grabbing Kyoko's hand and urging Hana. The two girls ran as fast as they could, but before they could escape, the smaller man grabbed Kyoko, dragging her back.
"Wah!" Kyoko screamed, slipping out of Tsuna's grip.
"Kyoko!" "Kyoko-chan!"
"Let her go!" Tsuna said, sparking his orange flames once more.
"You brat!" The taller man lunged at Tsuna.
It never connected. The taller man cried out in pain as he thrown back into the alleyway, crashing into the boxes and bags the littered the area.
"Just what do you think you're doing?" a dark and dangerous voice purred with the promise of pain and suffering.
Ayame had arrived.
A Demon in My View
Off handedly, there are several things one should know about Ayame. First, she didn't share. Second, the quickest way to anger her was to hurt someone or something she considered to be hers. Third, she had no qualms about killing.
In other words, these two were dead men walking.
Golden eyes narrowed, flashing in deep dark rage. Her paranoia had her lacing several small charms and wards on Tsuna that alerted her to when Tsuna was in danger and provided some small meager protection. It was a good thing too. Ayame didn't dare to think what would have happened to Tsuna and the two girls accompanying him if she hadn't shown up.
Three children, two adult men and a dark alleyway. No, not a good formula at all.
"Just what do you think you're doing?" Ayame all but purred. Her voice velvety smooth, promising eternal pain. Her killer intent leaked around, dropping the atmosphere into a cooling feeling.
"Who the hell are you?!" the shorter man demanded.
A dark smile spread across Ayame's face. "I strongly suggest you release that girl."
"Ha!" As if!" the man shouted. He drew Kyoko closer, waving around the pocket knife he had drawn. "You're in no posi- ERK!"
He was slammed into the alley's wall; Ayame's hand squeezing his face as she held him off the ground. The man choked, grappling at Ayame's arm, dropping Kyoko.
There was a flash of silver and Engetsu appeared, cradling the falling Kyoko in her tails and darting away to safety.
"Urgh, demon," the shorter man gasped at the appearance of the kitsune.
Ayame squeezed her hand. The shorter man gasped, eyes bulging. "You're looking at the wrong demon," she purred.
The taller man, having recovered from being shoved into the trashcans, lunged at Ayame. Her golden eyes never leaving the shorter man, she flicked her wrist. The knife that the shorter man dropped, went flying, piercing the taller man in the shoulder. He howled in pain, clutching his bleeding shoulder.
"Neesan," Tsuna whimpered.
Ayame turned and gave him a soft indulgent smile. "Everything will be okay, Tsuna. Engetsu, take Tsuna and girls somewhere safe okay."
Engetsu lead the children away, allowing Ayame to turn her full attention to the two men.
"Me-mercy," the shorter man pled, gasping for air. He tried to pull Ayame's hand away from his face and failed.
"Now why would I do that?" Ayame asked plainly.
Koumei had spoken the truth when he had said that Tsuna had tamed Ayame. At sixteen, the concept of mercy was something Ayame wouldn't have considered. Her rage burned too brightly; her friendship with Tsuna had yet to temperate it. Namimori had ignited Ayame's anger in a dangerous way and even a year after meeting Tsuna, she burned. Learning about Dying Will Flames, of Vongola, of Ienari and life that Tsuna was leading, only caused her rage to burn even brighter.
'Careful,' Engetsu sent down the mental link they shared.
The warning was unnecessary. Ayame was always careful. No matter how angry she truly was, it was a cold fury. It made her even methodical, if not crueler.
The taller man pulled the knife out of his shoulder, hissing in pain and jumped at Ayame again. She threw the smaller man at him, knocking him back.
'Do you need me to come back?' Engetsu asked. 'The kids are safe in the apartment.'
'No. I can handle this,' Ayame thought back. She brushed back her hair behind her ears, lightly touching the silver moon earrings she was wearing. "Weapon Form," Ayame said.
There was a flash and seven orbs now floated lazily around her. She touched one of them, letting it change shape into a gun. Pointing the loaded weapon at the two cowering men, Ayame smiled brightly. "Please, let me teach you what happens to those who dare harm my favorite people."
"No, no," the men pleaded. "Please. No."
Two gunshots rang.
Omnivore
Koumei could feel a headache growing. He thought he had escaped from this nonsense, but no, the Omnivore had to show up in Namimori, the town that Koumei had come to call home. He remembered Sinapri clearly, an event that had his former superiors begging for Koumei to return. Before his retirement, Koumei had been the only agent to get close enough to cracking Sinapri's location. When the reports of Sinapri's destruction surfaced, Koumei had been called in, away from his wife and then four-year-old son, to handle it.
With his restlessness and the promise of it being a short clean up, Koumei agreed. He regretted his decision.
Koumei was a man of few regrets. He did as he pleased, accepted all the consequences (or ignored the consequences per the Hibari way) and didn't give a damn to what people thought.
But the Sinapri Incident, brought him into meeting the Omnivore and her then friends. The knowledge of Sinapri's destruction was not worth the headache in the fallout.
"Omnivore," Koumei said gruffly. The alleyway stank of blood, the coppery taste clung in the air and the fresh feeling of death.
Ayame leaned against the bricked wall of the alleyway. A knife danced across her bloodstained fingers, gleaming in the light. At her feet, two dead bodies; men with empty gazes, expressions froze in eternal horror, whatever terror the Omnivore managed to instill before their deaths.
"Koumei-san," Ayame greeted cordially. Her smile was odd, just a touch of coldness. Her words were calm, but her golden eyes betrayed her shimmering rage.
There was the beast that Koumei knew not to carelessly stir. Whatever she found in Namimori, set her rage early and fast. The fact that it had yet to burn away was even more worrisome. Koumei liked Namimori. He did not need a repeat of Sinapri in Namimori.
The devour of all. The Omnivore would not distinguish between innocent bystander and those who stood in her way. Koumei needed to redirect her.
"If you are going to make this your hunting grounds, I have a list of acceptable targets," Koumei offered. The Triads members that prowled around Namimori, trying to lay a hand on his son, trying to cage him. He had to admit, if it was something he and the Omnivore shared, it was the ideology that simply… locking up the problem did not actually stop the threat. Killing the problem though? That sent the message loud and clear and most learned to back off.
Most. The Triad had yet to get the message that Koumei had no intention of handing over his son. They already stole his wife.
Ayame's eye glittered. "Oh?" She asked. "Well Namimori could use a cleanup."
"What," Koumei asked lightly, just a touch of caution, "did you have in mind?"
Golden eyes flashing, Ayame's smile was dangerous, full of promise, threats and power. "You'll see."
Never Again
Tsuna, was admittedly, at a lost. To his right, Kyoko had buried her face into Tsuna's shoulder, shaking and quietly crying. Hana, on Tsuna's left, was pale and gripping Tsuna's hand tight. The small brunet swallowed, trying not to feel too overwhelmed by helplessness.
Keeping a watchful eye on them, Engetsu guarded the door.
Said door just opened, revealing a blood spattered Ayame.
"Neesan!" Tsuna cried out. Was that her blood? Was she hurt?
Ayame smiled at him. The dark and dangerous aura that Tsuna had felt in the alleyway was gone. "Hello Tsuna," Ayame greeted.
"Are you hurt?" Tsuna blurted out.
Ayame looked down at her bloodstained clothes. "Ah, no. None of this is mines."
"Are they gone?" Hana asked sharply. Her eyes were stubborn, narrowed and distrusting; her mouth twisted in a firm line.
On the other side of Tsuna, Kyoko shook even harder.
"They're gone," Ayame reassured softly.
"Never again," Kyoko hiccupped again. "I don't ever want to feel like that ever again."
Tsuna nodded in agreement. This… was not acceptable. Tsuna wanted to protect those around him. He felt the rising warmth of his Flames, the tug of his Hyper Intuition singing in him.
Something softened in Ayame's golden eyes.
"Never again, huh," she mumbled to herself. "Well then, let's do something about that."
Yellow Flowers
Giotto gazed out at the field of yellow flowers, lost in thought. "A descendant," he mused to himself, thinking of Tsuna. It had been years since Giotto had given his family any thought. Before, it simply hurt too much to think of who he had left behind. After, time had simply dulled his memories and grief. It just… became easier to forget that he had a family line, especially after his first appearance to Terzo…
"Even after all this time, Yoshimune's line continues," Giotto said, proudly. Family was always Yoshimune's first love and pride. His son would be delighted to learn that his family line still existed, even 400 years later.
"Sawada Ieyasu."
Giotto stiffened, unused to hearing his Japanese name. He turned to see Tsuna's Neesan standing before him.
"Are you lost?" Giotto asked. He… hadn't expected to see her again, or even Tsuna.
"I know my way around the Spirit World," she said; golden eyes glittering with an emotion that Giotto couldn't quite pinpoint.
She smiled at him, but it was lacking in warmth. A smile that didn't reach her eyes, false and fake. But her words, those jolted Giotto to the core. "Say, Sawada-san, how would you like to see Tsuna again and visit Namimori?" she asked.
Instantly, Giotto grew suspicious. "What's the catch?" he demanded. He hadn't lead a group of vigilantes by being naive and clueless. There had be a catch somewhere.
"For you? Not so much. There's a technique you have to master which will allow you to shift down to the physical plane and a set of rules you must follow or be erased from reality," Tsuna's Neesan remarked. "It's a bit harder on my part, with some odd 300 paper wards, spells and prayers, a couple offerings, but if we do it right, it should last a couple decades before it needs to be repeated, assuming it has to be repeated in the first place."
"Then why are you offering this time consuming ritual?" Giotto said. "What do you benefit from this?"
"Crime levels are unacceptable in Namimori at the moment," she calmly remarked. "But I'll be cleaning house soon."
A chill ran down Giotto's spine at the phrase 'cleaning house'.
"I don't benefit directly from this offer, but today Tsuna had a small run in with two criminals. It was far too close for comfort," she continued on, ignoring Giotto's reaction. "So, what I really want is for you to watch out of him as best as you can and should he ask you, teach him how to use his Dying Will Flames."
There was a painful lurch in his heart at hearing that Tsuna had a 'small run in' with two criminals.
"Is Tsuna all right?" Giotto asked.
"Yes."
Giotto's Hyper Intuition rang lightly in his head. It wasn't a lie, but it wasn't the complete truth either. Did that mean Tsuna was all right now, but wouldn't be later?
"Your answer?" she pressed.
"Yes," Giotto said. As if it was even a question in the first place. Catch or no catch, Tsuna was important to Giotto. How could he turn it down after learning that Tsuna had been in danger? "I'll do it."
"Very well. I look forward to working with you, Primo."
A month later, the wards that protected Namimori went up. A several group of spirits, including a certain first generation had become permanent visitors.
Clouds
Alaude had always preferred to work alone. It was easier, simpler. There was no one to annoy him, no one for him to worry about.
A secret he took his grave (and continue to maintain in his afterlife) was that he did enjoy teaching.
But only if the right student came along.
He found two in Namimori.
Namimori was aggravating. Originally, he thought the small town was one of Giotto brilliant side projects, the same way the Sky had taken on renovating orphanages back in Italy. Hearing about Giotto's descendant solidified the idea.
Until he actually met Sawada Tsunayoshi and ran straight into the mystery that was Namimori.
Then those same damn protective instincts (instincts that hadn't been invoked since the last time Giotto got badly hurt, a feat that was rare after their 'retirement') came rushing back. Hackles raised and Giotto's damning smug smile, Alaude willing visited Namimori, trying to untangle the mess that was Namimori. It was unacceptable for a former head of a secret intelligence agency to not know something this big. The girl, Ayame, was equally infuriating.
That was when Tsuna introduced Alaude to Hibari Kyoya.
It was like looking into a damn mirror.
(He was going to wipe that smug smile off of Giotto's face! His Sky knew that Alaude wouldn't be able to ignore a giant mystery and someone who shared similar personality traits and abilities to him.)
It was like fate was delivering him a student that Alaude was the perfect teacher for. Gods help him if Alaude found someone similar to Daemon running around in Namimori.
Then Tsuna introduced Alaude to Sasagawa Kyoko.
(What was it with Giotto's family line and finding strays?!)
Days after meeting Kyoya, Alaude had no interest in another student. One Cloud was enough. Trying to teach two would be a bloodbath in the waiting.
Besides, Sasagawa Kyoko couldn't possibly be a Cloud. While it was not a rule that Clouds were aloof, it was easy for Alaude to see that she did bind herself to her brother and friends. She was nice, friendly even, and kind hearted.
Except she narrowed her golden brown eyes, mouth drew a thin line and promptly punched him in the stomach. For such a small child, it didn't hurt. Alaude had to give her points for the sheer guts that took.
To the side, Giotto was clearly stiffening his laughter, Ayame didn't even bother, Kyoya let out a whistle and Tsuna paled and let out a soft "Kyoko-chan."
"Hmm," Alaude said, observing the newly unleashed bloodlust that was reflected in the small girl's eyes, the desire to protect with a touch of viciousness, to cut her fangs despite being nothing but a small kitten.
Perhaps she was a Cloud after all.
"First thing," Alaude said firmly. "To throw a proper punch, slightly bend your knees, keep your chin down and hands raised by the sides of your face. Push off your back foot -"
Raining Fire
-Present Day-
"- and snap your jab out quickly," Kyoko recited to herself as another Triad member collapsed at her feet.
She jumped back, putting distance between her and the next Triad member. Her hand went to her silver bracelet, touching it and calling out "Weapon Form!"
There was a flash of purple and two Glock handgun materialized. She took aim and fired. Coated in her Cloud Flames, the bullet split, propagating and taking out seven more Triad members.
"Why the hell are they attacking!" Hana called out from her left. Her naginata whirled, gleaming in the morning sun.
"I don't know!" Kyoko said. Things had been building, that much was evident, but it wasn't like Ayame to let it get this far out of hand. Though, Kyoko supposed, the fight between Ayame and Tsuna probably distracted Ayame enough that it was possible she let it slip.
Kyoko let out a frustrated sigh. She and Hana were supposed to meet Haru. They were going to surprise Chrome with a gift, for no reason beyond the fact that they could. This was not how Kyoko wanted to spend her morning.
She grabbed the female Triad member that lunged at her by her wrist, pulling her forward before driving a fist into the tender expose navel area. Another member down.
The remaining members shouted something in Mandarin, probably along the lines of who were these kids or something to that effect.
"Kyoko!" Hana shouted. "One of them has Haru and I-pin!"
Kyoko whirled around, spotting a large man carrying an unconscious Haru over his shoulder and an unconscious I-pin in his arm. Kyoko flickered her wrist, letting her Glocks shift into her M110 sniper rifle. Her stance shifted, bracing herself for the recoil, took aim and fire.
But before the bullet hit its target, there was a clang as the bullet ricocheted off a steel sword. A man with green eyes stood before Kyoko holding a Jian in his left hand. "Oh?" he said. "There are more people here who can use Dying Will Flames? In that case, there is no need to hold back."
He raised his sword to the sky, simmering with Rain Flames swinging it down in a graceful arc. "Mizu no Maki."
Hana darted in front of Kyoko, jabbing the butt of her naginata into the ground. "Doryuuheki!" A wall of earth rose before her, blocking the coil of rain flames.
Once the attack was over, Kyoko jumped to the top of the wall. She frowned at the now empty streets.
"They got away," she hissed.
"Not for long," Hana said darkly.
"No, not for long," Kyoko agreed.
Atlas Falling
By Inari-sama, she was so tired.
Ayame felt tears burn in the corners of her eyes, but she refused to let them fall. She had always known, how dangerous it was to tie herself so tightly to Tsuna. She knew how badly it would come back to burn her. She knew, knew it so deep in her heart, and yet she did it anyways. Tsuna would never know, but he was her anchor in the insanity that Ayame called her life. Without him… well Ayame remembered all too well the last time she went without an anchor. She never wanted to end up there again.
She didn't want to end up like him.
How did she even begin to fix this? Could it even be fixed? What place did a Moon have in Sky with a Sun that shined so bright, with elements that loved the Sky just as dearly, when all the Moon did was darken the Sky around in order to glow?
They were two different pieces of a puzzle that didn't even remotely fit together. Ayame tried, tempered her anger, locked down her bloodlust, and tried kind and gentle and understanding. But, even years later, she still didn't understand. No matter how hard she tried, no matter how many books she read, how many observations she made, she still didn't understand.
Tsuna had wanted to avoid Vongola and she did everything she could to the point of desperation. But had she simply tainted him in a different way?
"Ayame?"
Ayame glanced to her side. Dino looked at her, the look of concern he had been wearing for the last few hours had not faded. Despite the fact that the sun had just broke the horizon, he was still here, still sitting with her.
"Shouldn't you be going back?" she asked, voice raw.
He shrugged. "I think you need a friend more," he said with a smile.
"You silly man," she said.
Screech!
Ayame froze as Namimori suddenly let out a blaring alarm. The wards! She stood quickly, feeling a sense of dread wash over. Now that she thought about it, the feeling that something was about to go horribly wrong had been lingering for hours and she had been too distraught to recognize the warning for what it was.
Her eyes snapped in the direction of the shopping mall. She didn't know which of her kids, probably one of the newer ones (Haru? Shoichi? When this was all over she tagging all of them regardless of whether they wanted to or not) was in trouble.
"Ayame? What's wrong?" Dino's hand enclosed around her wrist.
"The kids," she managed to get out. Her vision blurred and dimly she recognized the signs of her body finally giving out. She had been pushing too far lately, too little rest. Ah. She was falling.
Well, at least Dino was here to catch her.
Screams of the Unseen
Mukuro woke to screams.
His vision blurred, murky and dark as the colors swirled and muted together. Screams…? Words? He couldn't make out what the noise was, just that it was deafening and painful. His head throbbed in pain.
"Mukuro-san?"
He blinked, vision clearing just long enough to see Chrome's purple eyes staring at him with worry. Mukuro could feel the weight of her hand on his shoulder, grounding him.
"His eye is bleeding!" Ken yelped in the background. "I thought that bandage was supposed to stop that!"
Mukuro willed his body to move, for words to form. Nothing but sharp pain and world swayed side to side.
"Mukuro-san! Lancia-san we have to-"
His world turned black.
Danger Danger
Tsuna woke to Hyper Intuition ringing in his head.
"Tsuna?"
Tsuna looked down to see Reborn standing before him. The hitman's face was impassive, but Tsuna could sense the concern that lingered, hidden. Wildly, Tsuna looked around, trying to piece together what had happened, what was triggering his Hyper Intuition.
No immediate threat in sight. None Reborn was reacting or sensing at least. Safe for now. Forest, right, after his last fight with Ayame he had flown into the forest. Wait, sunrise? He had been here all night? His mother must be worried sick.
Mentally, Tsuna ran through his list of friends, trying to probe a reaction from his Hyper Intuition. He paled; the feeling the sense of danger spike as he thought of both Haru and I-pin.
"Reborn we need to find Haru and I-pin now," Tsuna said.
He could figure out everything out later. Why Reborn was here with him in the forest, what to do about his fight with Ayame. That could come later. Right now two of his friends were in danger.
Thankfully, Reborn didn't question it. He just jumped onto Tsuna's shoulders before Tsuna took to the Sky, leaving behind a trail of orange flames.
All Seeing
Nana paused, her gaze sharpening as she looked outside of the window.
"Nana-san?" Bianchi asked, questioning why the older woman had suddenly stopped her folding of clothes.
"Meishi," Nana said. Her feathered companion let out a cheerful chirp. "If the children need help, go."
Meishi let out a thrill and flew out of the window.
Nana turned back to Bianchi. "We should lock up the house," Nana said with a frown. What a terrible day for this to be happening. Tsuna did not return home last night and both Ienari and I-pin had left before she had woke. "There's something dangerous going down in the town. Call Hayato-kun and warn him. Be careful if you choose to go out to get him."
Bianchi nodded and grabbed the phone.
Nana abandoned the laundry and started locking up the house. She should also inform Tsuyoshi.
Twin Swords
"Got it Nana, thank you," Tsuyoshi said as he hung up the phone.
"Is Tsuna okay?" Takeshi asked. The tight grip on his sword betrayed his impatience.
"Tsuna didn't come home last night," Tsuyoshi said.
He watched as his son's eyes narrowed. Poor Tsuna. His friends, especially his son, were so overprotective of him. Granted, there was a good reason.
"Meishi informed Nana that Tsuna was fine," Tsuyoshi said. He pulled out his own sword out of the closet. "But we should probably check on Hibari-san. Triad Members are the ones in the streets."
"Got it Oyaji."
Moving Out
"There are less than expected," Ienari said, peering at the warehouse with a pair of binoculars. Kaori's intel made it sound like there were over a 100 at their headquarters. Ienari only saw about 60 or so. With their numbers hovering around 30, it was two to one. Not bad odds. Only their inexperience would stop them.
"Should be easy to take them out then," Hachirou said.
"Be careful," Ienari said. "They still have more experience than us. No one except for Koujin have actual fighting experience. We shouldn't be overconfident."
"On your mark, Ienari-kun," Hisen said.
Ienari nodded. "Go. Let's hit them hard and quick before they even know we're here."
Twin Suns and Stormy Sands
"Where am I? I'm headed towards my job, Aneki," Hayato said with a huff. Today he had morning shift, before school started. A new shipment of fresh fruits would be arriving that Hayato would have to help unload.
"HELP!"
Hayato turned around to see Irie running down the street with two tall men chasing after him.
"I gotta go Aneki. Yeah, I'll be careful," Hayato said, hanging up his phone. "Double Bomb!" he said, throwing his bombs at the men.
Irie yelped, dodging the bombs. "Gokudera-san! Are you trying to kill me?!" he shouted as he ran past the bomber and ducking for cover.
"You survived," Hayato said curtly.
"You must be Gokudera Hayato," the skinner of the two men said. "Both you and Irie Shoichi can be used as leverage against the Storm Arcobaleno."
"I don't know who you think you are, but if you think I'm an easy target you got another bomb coming at you," Hayato said. He flicked his wrist, summoning another wave of bombs. "Double Bomb!"
The skinner man jumped forward, foot extended. Hayato grabbed Irie and dashed to the left to the dodge the kick. Pushing Irie down, Hayato avoided the halberd the partner had jabbed in their direction.
"Keep up Irie!" Hayato shouted, pulling the redhead with him.
"Easy for you to say!" Irie shouted back.
"Extreme Punch!"
The one carrying the halberd went flying, knocked down by the punch of Ryohei's punch.
"Octopus-head! Irie-kun!," the boxer greeted. "This is an extreme situation!"
"Tell me something I don't know turf-top!" Hayato snapped back. "Who the hell are these guys?"
"Triad," Ryohei answered. "They are the ones after Kyoya all the time. This is the first time I've seen so many!"
Hayato shoved Irie towards Ryohei and charged at the skinner man. He slid between the man's legs, leaving behind a trail of bombs.
With a resounding boom, Hayato turned his attention back to Irie and Ryohei. "We need more information," Hayato said. "These bastards said we were supposed to be leverage against the Storm Arcobaleno. Who else are they targeting?"
"I'm not even particularly close to Hibari-senpai and Fon-san," Irie said.
"But Tsuna-sama is," Hayato pointed out. "Even the baseball idiot and the girls."
"Let's go to the Sawada House," Ryohei said. "The girls are together and Takeshi is with his father. Chrome is heading there with Mukuro and is requesting my help. Mukuro is extremely hurt, she said."
Hayato snorted. "Serves the pineapple head right. Let's go," he said, dragging Irie with him. Ryohei grinned and followed.
Phone Call
Koumei scowled at the piece of paper in his hands. Of course this would happen now.
Code Red-3-SKH-NM-1116-Sinapiri
Code Red was already a state of emergency, but the string of numbers and letters that followed it. 3 was the designation for the Triad. SKH, their target was unsurprisingly, Kyoya. The NM for Namimori was expected. 1116, however, meant the Omnivore, was for some reason or another, unable to contain the problem.
Sinapri was nightmare to see written down. It was the blasted code for more than 300 enemies present.
Halfway across the world, Koumei would have to have faith that his son and his friends were strong enough to fend off the Triads until help arrived.
He picked up his phone dialing the number.
"Execute Plan: Demons Run."
Bird Trap
Kyoya flew.
His tonfas hit their targets true, flashing silver in the morning sun. He sidestepped as a female Triad member threw a knife coated in storm flames at him. A quick jab into the stomach caused another member to drop like a sack of potatoes. Kyoya jumped over the fallen body, blocking the halberd that was trusted at him.
"Those who disturb Namimori's peace shall be bitten to death," Kyoya said.
He leapt forward, tonfas extended outward, catching a man in the face. He roundhouse kicked another, continuing his attack, leaving behind a trail of bodies.
"Demon," someone whispered, wide eyed.
"How can he be so strong? He's just a child!"
Kyoya narrowed his eyes, slipping back into a readied stance. He let out a low growl, displeased by the appearance of a foreign pack invading his territory. This needed to be corrected, before he hunted down the Omnivore to demand why she had let this problem grow out of control. Then again, the fighting between the Omnivore and Baby Omnivore was probably root of the issue. For a pair of omnivores, they could be such herbivores at times.
"Irritating," Kyoya said. Cloud Flames sprung to life, coating his tonfas. This was more than enough.
Then he moved.
Flashes of silver and purple blinded the group of Triad members as they began to drop like flies. A few tried to run away only to find a tonfa driven into their guts.
Observing from a distance, stood two shadows.
"Oh my, they really don't stand a chance do they?" the woman asked.
"Well he is the blood relative of the Storm Arcobaleno," her partner said in a gruff voice.
Ruby red lips stretched into a wife smile. "Well then, let's go play with the baby bird."
Kyoya surveyed the damage. Piles of bodies laid around him, unconscious and groaning. Despite the large number, this had been pathetically easy. Did they honestly think a large number would be able to stop him?
He quickly raised his tonfa, deflecting the jab of a Qiang before vaulting away as another attack came from the right.
"Ah, you dodged that. My, my, you are as good as they say," the woman said, whirling her qiang around her hand. The red tassel around the tip fluttered. "Hello baby bird. I am Yin."
"And I am Jin," the muscular male next to her said. He matched his sister's movement, mimicking the lazy spin of the Qiang around his hand.
Kyoya scowled. The Cloud Flames around his tonfas lit once more. "I will bite you to death."
Yin grinned, leaping forward, her qiang quivering. Kyoya blocked her attack, leaning to the left as Jin's first jab came at his side. The siblings fell into practiced patterned, repeating jabbing at Kyoya as he danced away from the sharp points.
Kyoya let out a hiss as the tip of Yin's qiang burst into Storm Flames, grazing him and eating away at his shirt. Jin didn't let him recover, jumping off his sister's shoulders and diving down with a sweep of Lightning Flames.
The attack didn't connect.
Instead a piercing roar shook the air as a red dragon intercepted Jin's attack. The two Flames exploded outward, blinding everyone in the area.
"Exploding Lotus Kempo!"
"Who!" Yin shouted, shielding her eyes.
"Carnivore," Kyoya hissed.
"The Storm Arcobaleno," Jin said, as the dust cleared revealing Fon's presence.
Fon smiled gently at his nephew. "Hello Kyoya. I hope you don't mind me joining in."
Kyoya scowled harder. "Don't get in my way."
"Of course," Fon said. He watched as Jin and Yin stood in readied stances. Their qiang lit with their respective Flames.
"Let's show these herbivores their place."
-cries- This entire chapter was fight scenes and I didn't GO anywhere. -cries-
So, we've finally learn how Tsuna met Kyoko and Hana (and by extension how Giotto ended up in Namimori). If you're a little unsure of the timeline, this is after Tsuna's first meeting with Giotto but before Tsuna met Ryohei and before the Bridge Incident. Yes, Kyoko is a Cloud Flame User -snicker- This is why she was having tea with Alaude back in Chapter 15 (Social Visit). I've always pictures Kyoko as this cute little cloud, you know like the cartoon kind, until you push her too far and she turns into this vicious storm cloud -snicker- This version of Kyoko in particular doesn't take any shit. She is not afraid to throw down and that is part of the reason why she's stronger than Hibari. In the meantime, I've gleefully knocked out Ayame and Mukuro. I'm sure you guys have started to figure out the oddities that pop up every time I write a fight scene...
Also since there was a good amount of interest, I've posted extras/notes/theories as a side story. Please go read Goddamn Namimori!
Lastly, a couple people have asked me when the R27 stuff is going to happen (and along the same vein there have been people questioning why am I ruining a perfectly good idea with the pairing -in which I must ask why are you reading this story if you don't like my pairings?-) R27 doesn't happen until after the timeskip that occurs somewhere in Book 2. Book 2 starts some time after the Ring Battles are resolved and will at least cover the Future Arc. "But Seito! That's so far away!" Yes, the reason is two fold. 1) I tell you my endgame pairing so you don't invest over a year and 130k+ words of reading and waiting only to find out you really don't like my endgame pairing. 2) I like my characters in relationships to be at least of age (unless I'm writing a teenage romance story but that's not the case here). Age of Consent is low in Japan but prefecture law overrides that bumping it back up to 18, and age of maturity is 20. Plus, despite his actual age, Reborn is physically stuck as a baby. Until the curse gets broken and he's back to adult form, we're not rushing any relationship anywhere.
Besides, do you really think these two are going to figure it out before then? There might be a couple hints here and there before the timeskip or things you may interpret as shipping (-laughs- they share a bed more often than not at this point, Reborn is always sitting in Tsuna's lap, etc) but in general it's not a focus right now and won't be for awhile longer.
General Notes:
See here for the various Chinese weapons mentioned in this chapter: (remove #) tinyurl#.#com/jxan942
Bilingual Bonus:
Doryuuheki - Earth Style Wall
Mizu no Maki - Coil of Water
Jin - Gold
Yin - Silver
Anon Reviewers
Dear Guest (Jun 21), yup, I also post on ao3. Same username and everything.