A Royal Capture
Chapter Eight
"It's about damn time! I've been camping out here surviving on only restaurant food for a week! It's delicious as hell, but I think I gained a pound and depleted my wallet!" Dino protested, arms folded as he stared at the Vongola. As Tsunayoshi stepped out of the helicoptor, he gave Dino a serious glance.
"It's good to see you again, Dino. I wish it could be on less strange circumstances, though," he said, walking up to the blond and giving him a brief hug. "Giannini, Ryohei, Hayato, and Takeshi are all at the base in case anything goes wrong. But Lal, Colonello, Chrome, Kusakabe, Reborn, and Spanner all insisted on coming."
"Chaos," Reborn greeted.
"Uh- The more the merrier," the older male replied with a nod, before glancing warily at Reborn and giving a small wave. With that, he added, "All right, so the base is barren! All the grunts seem to have been killed, but it wasn't like a huge Storm fire or anything - the building's completely in tact. In fact, all of their rooms are t-woaahh!" As he tripped on a stair, falling flat on his face, Dino gave an embarassed grunt, but Tsuna simply smiled and helped him back up.
"You should've called Romario over, Dino... he would be a great help," he said gently.
"I k-know what you're getting at, Tsuna, but I'm older than you, and I think I can handle myself!" the older male huffed. "C-c'mon, let's go inside."
As the Vongola filed into the room, Colonello flirtily pecked Lal's cheek. "Hey," he whispered, "The second we get this sorted out, you wanna try one of those restaurants? I hear they have some really good cola, hey."
"Focus," Lal muttered, smacking his shoulder.
"Tsuna," Reborn growled, placing a hand on the other male's shoulder. "I sense a presence nearby. Strong."
"Really, Reborn? I checked this place pretty thoroughly, and I didn't see anyone," Dino mumbled.
"I've been a hitman much longer than you, Dino," Reborn answered with a stern glare. "And I say tread carefully."
"V-Voi... it's you brats..."
"Squalo!" Tsuna gasped, running forward the moment he took notice of the silverette standing in the hallway to their right. Running up to the swordsman, he checked him over closely, deemed him too weak to protest, and gave him a brief hug.
His calculation was obviously wrong, as he ended up on the ground seconds later.
"Chaos, Squalo," Reborn said, brushing past Tsuna to approach the swordsman. "Was this an inner fight? Did you try to succeed Xanxus or something?"
The shark shook his head fiercely. "Like I'd ever abandon the BOSS!" he shouted seconds later, clearly rather pissed off by the statement. "This... this was WAR! And I got away with my delightful-company captor, Zakuro..."
"What? Zakuro? Where's he now?" Dino asked.
"I ran 'im off...," Squalo muttered. "I told the guy my heart was Xanxus's, that I'd been playin' with him in order to help boss and the other's get out... to my surprise, he didn't fight, just stared at me, called me an idjit, and walked off all like a sad-puppy. I'm sure he'll be back, though, once rage hits him. I don't wanna be here when that happens..."
"You better begin from the start," Reborn muttered, folding his arms.
The shark nodded, soon beginning to tell his story. How the Varia had been fooled and immediately captured, thrown in seperate rooms and manipulated into the temptation of cheating on those that they loved. How he'd tried to infiltrate the entire operation and get his lover and comrades out, only to have a very unexpected twist take place.
"I see," Reborn muttered once the Rain guardian had finished. "So it looks like we better warn Yamamoto and Gokudera about this other family in the case that the base gets attacked by some sort of Japan branch of Spiaggia. Dino, call your men over. Colonello, do you know where Fon is?"
"I heard last he was moving with some soccer team, but with the curse broken now, I can't see that happenin'," Colonello replied. "Does he have a phone?"
Reborn sighed. "I don't think so. He kind of just talks to the wind. But nevermind him, and call Ryohei over. Spanner, do you think you can find out more on them?"
Spanner nodded. "Perhaps with Chrome's help, I could infiltrate their base, as Kusakabe, Lambo, I-Pin and Chrome all did to our old Millefiore base."
"Everyone hold on," Tsunayoshi said, folding his arms. "I'll go in there first."
"Boss...," Chrome murmured.
"This is my fault. When Xanxus didn't answer my calls for checking in, I figured they were just being Varia. I should've realized something was wrong!" the Vongola boss said. "Squalo, come with me, please," he said, holding his hand towards the Rain guardian. "We'll go for Xanxus first."
"Tsuna, that's-"
"Don't tell me I'm being reckless," the Vongola answered. "I know that."
"No, it's not reckless. It's just stupid," Reborn answered, frowning. "You have no idea what this famiglia's strength is like."
"That may be true. But all things considered, I have Natsu with me. You guys will be here, I'll let you know if I get into trouble. But I just want to check things out first. If this is easier than expected, then I'll just handle it. I mean... these are Varia we're talking about. I can see them all just popping back to life the second they see me, because they'll certainly want to hit me for trying to save them."
"... Voi," Squalo muttered. "I'm all for this, but I just want to bring up the fact that they captured Hibari and Byakuran as well. You have yet to defeat Hibari, but they managed. So... um... there's no polite way to say this, so... YOU'RE GONNA GET WHOOPED IF YOU JUST WALTZ IN THERE, YOU DUMBASS!"
"Whooped, huh?" Spanner said, a smug grin on his face.
"SHADDAP!" Squalo snapped.
"I'm afraid I don't want to allow just you and Squalo to go in there," Kusakabe muttered. "I have to make sure Kyo-san is all right, Tsunayoshi. I can't just leave this up to you. I'm sorry."
"M-me neither," Chrome said in a tiny voice. "Master Mukuro has protected me all my life. I want to be part of helping him now."
"Hey, hey, if you guys are going, I am too!" Dino protested. "I've gotta protect my former pupil!"
Spanner rolled his eyes. "I'm kind of in there with Shouichi, so like... we're back to my plan, although a bit expanded."
Colonello grinned. "And while you're all doing that, I'll take Lal out to a nice restaurant!" he announced, only to have Lal slap him repeatedly.
Tsuna sighed and ran his fingers through his spiky hair. "Sheesh, everyone..."
"Looks like your mind has been up for you again, Tsuna. Lal, Colonello and I will all wait for word from you," Reborn said with a small grin. "But take a couple days to come up with a plan of attack. Squalo? Let's get some ideas on the layout of this base..."
"God, Byakuran..." Shouichi reached forward, placing his hand over the albino's and smiling tearily. It'd been a week since their escape, but the shock still hadn't died down. The two kept talking about how it'd felt, being separated from each other. They continuously exchanged gushy, not very Varia-like feelings, and were now at a cafe, holding each other's hands as they waited to be served.
They'd been laying low - in fact, this was their first time out in public together since they'd escaped, save for darting around quickly to find places to sleep. They hadn't had time to really enjoy themselves, as they'd been making sure they weren't being followed. It seemed back at the Spiaggia base, they already had their hands full.
Although, they knew the peace couldn't last much longer. They had to find a way to save their teammates, perhaps infiltrate the Spiaggia headquarters under some crazy disguise. Maybe they'd even-
"Wait, wait, wait!" came a voice from a few tables over, soon getting closer. Bejewled hands with painted purple nails slammed down on the table, and the two looked up in shock. "I'm becoming part of this arc! I get pissy when people forget about me!" snapped the man, lips pulled back to reveal a wide, white cheshire grin.
"Oh. Hi, Jill," Byakuran greeted, smiling weakly. "I forgot you work here. Actually, I forgot you weren't dead." He gave a charming smile and giggle, squeezing Shouichi's hand and making the mechanic blush in embarassment. "Guess we better catch you up, huh? So here's what's been going down. It all started with Hibari and Mukuro getting married..."
"Skip it, I need to work," the prince muttered, folding his arms. "After hours we can discuss this, among how I can get in on it all. But in the meantime, what would you like to drink?"
"Strawberry hot chocolate for both of us," Byakuran said happily.
"Strawberry hot chocolate? Is that a thing?" the blond questioned, arching an eyebrow. "Because if it is, this is the first time I'm hearing about it."
"It totally is!" Byakuran agreed with a nod. "Oh, and for food, we'll have sundaes. Because it's the best breakfast ever!"
"Byakuran, it's four in the afternoon," Shouichi said with a smile.
"... Breakfast for dinner!" the albino cheered, bouncing a bit in his seat.
"And they call me weird," Rasiel scoffed lightly, walking off to give the order.
Shouichi smiled, leaning over the table suddenly and pecking Byakuran's lips. "Thanks for running, by the way...," he whispered, a sympathetic look on his face. "Even if it lost you your wings a second time... it was the best thing to do."
"Fufu~ I'm glad it turned out the way it did," the white-haired male admitted. "But we need to buy you a new pair of glasses... and we could both really use a shave and a haircut."
"Two bits," Shouichi chuckled, smiling.
"... Is that some kind of reference?" Byakuran asked, only to receive a shrug in response. "Well... okay then... We also need to buy some new clothes. ... Ugh... we need money."
"Perhaps Rasiel will help us there," Shouichi replied with a shrug. "After all, he takes care of Bel and Fran's villa. He can't exactly be poor."
"Hmm... I can't see his job paying very well, but he does look as pampered as ever...," Byakuran hummed, resting his chin against his palm and sighing. "... I hope Bel and Fran are okay."
"They're the strongest of the lot of us," Shouichi answered with a smile. "They'll be totally fine. I mean, think about it. They got together before any of us, even before Squalo and Xanxus. They'll tough it out."
"Hmmm~ Yeah. But they're still just kids," Byakuran answered with a pout. Shouichi grinned.
"Byakuran, they're almost thirty."
"Hey, thirty is the new twenty."
Meanwhile, in Japan...
"Say 'ah.'"
"Go get hit in the head with a baseball bat," Gokudera snapped, glaring at his lover, his hair up in a ponytail and glasses perched on his nose as he studied his Sistema C.A.I., trying to improve on it. Yamamoto simply laughed, and ate the sushi roll himself, seeming rather satisfied with himself. "Ugh... it's so boring without Tenth here," the bomber sighed, sketching out a plan for an attack. "And turf-top keeps screaming in the other room. ... Baseball idiot, go be useful and shut him up."
"Hahaha! Oh, come on now, Hayato, it's not that bad," Yamamoto laughed, his arms folded behind his head. "Him yelling means he's busy getting stronger!"
"If he were any stronger, he'd die of bodybuilding," Gokudera muttered, to which Yamamoto simply laughed again.
BEEP-BEEP.
"Gokudera, Yamamoto!" came Giannini's voice through the intercom. "W-we have a situation!"
"Yay, finally! Some action!" Gokudera announced, lighting right up. "Let's go have fun, idiot!"
"When are you gonna start consistently calling me by my name? You know we're never getting married until you do!" Yamamoto asked, still laughing as he ran out with Gokudera. The two guardians soon arrived in Giannini's office, finding his desk covered in pictures.
"What's up, Giannini?" Gokudera asked as he stepped in, recoiling in shock when he saw that the pictures were all of a badly beaten Mukuro and Hibari.
"These came in the mail alongside a ransom note asking for the Vongola rings and boxes!" Giannini said, giving the two a worried look. "I think it might be from the family that supposedly kidnapped the Varia! You two should probably go meet up with Tenth at the Varia base. I got a call about thirty minutes ago... Romario and Ryohei need to go, too, so you may be able to catch a flight with them."
"We're all going?" Gokudera murmured. "I really don't want to leave you alone in the base..."
"Okay, uh, I'm hurt," came Lambo's voice from the door. The eighteen-year old was leaning against the doorframe, arms crossed. "I'll call I-Pin over and we'll hold down the fort. Don't you trust us?"
"No," Gokudera muttered. "But if Tenth needs me in Italy..."
"Ooh, we could go on a double-date with Squalo and Xanxus while we're over there!" Yamamoto said happily.
"You idiot, they're not even confirmed alive right now!" the silverette snapped, cuffing his lover's shoulder and blushing. "Stop thinking about stupid stuff! It's time to get serious!"
"Indeed, you two... go get Ryohei. Romario should be coming here soon," Giannini said gravely. "They're probably going to need all of you in Japan." He held up a picture of Mukuro and Hibari lying side by side, both unconscious, bruises and cuts littering their thin, feeble frames. "And just remember what these monsters have done to our family."
-End Chapter
A little comedy relief this chapter, but ultimately, business is business. XD
Review for more! Sorry for slow updates! I blame school! D: