Chapter 16: The you in my flame

Ladies and Gentlemen.

I hope that you are all sitting comfortably, and I would like to welcome you to today's show. Those in the front rows may get a little covered in blood so be aware. This is one of my longer chapters- second longest actually. It takes place the day after the training simulation. Talking of which, you all seemed to like the Reborn's eye view I did, and it made quite a few of you laugh. I'm glad that I got such a range of emotions from you all concerning the differing chapters there. Don't worry, the VeryDark!Gang will not be making an appearance in this chapter.

Shinichi wakens to the feeling of something brushing his face and tickling his nose. Absently he brushes it away, before rolling over. Realising that it was someone's hair he had just brushed away, he rolls back onto his back before blearily trying to open his eyes. However before he can actually see more than a white blur, a gloved hand covers his eyes.

"Oya, oya, awake already, My fierce Shinichi?" asks a deep smooth voice. The hair moves to the side before leaving his face completely.

"Fierce?" questions Shinichi, not an adjective this voice has used before to describe him.

"Kufufufu, you were rather fierce during the training simulation. I never knew you had such a mean streak in you." Answers the voice, laughing slightly.

"Oy, Shini-chan, can you sit up? We've got some medicine from the lollipop guy" comes a higher pitched and more bouncy voice. Shinichi nods his head.

As he gets up slowly, the pounding in his head gets worse. The hand never comes off his eyes either. As he sits up fully, the hand does move, but instead of coming off completely, the other hand joins it, each covering one eye completely.

"Lollipop guy? You must mean… oh what's his name… Spanner." Mumbles Shinichi, trying to get the world to stop spinning, even though he can't see a thing.

"Shinichi, are you alright? It's not like you to forget a name" This voice comes from farther away, and is almost monotone.

"Really? Guess my brain still isn't online yet." Shinichi manoeuvres around the hands and arms keeping his eyes closed to pinch the bridge of his nose, and then to rub his temples.

"Here, Shini-chan, drink this. It's supposed to make you better" says the bouncy voice, but there is a little less bounce than before, and a lot more concern. Shinichi can feel a glass pressing against his hand. Taking ahold of the glass firmly, he holds open his other hand and feels a few small capsules fall into it. Quickly Shinichi takes the pills and finishes the glass of water.

"Got anything else to drink? I'm feeling dehydrated." Asks Shinichi, hoping the headache will go away afterwards. He hears a slight scramble- someone getting up off the floor- before footsteps walk away from him.

A few moments later the footsteps return and several bottles are placed on the floor.

"Okay, this first one is Cola, to get more sugar and caffeine in you. Hopefully it will wake you up, byon". A slight hiss announces the opening of the bottle, before it's passed into his hand. He takes a few sips first, getting used to the coldness and the bubbles, before downing the rest as quickly as he can. Admittedly the headache does lighten up a little.

"Next is a sport's drink, byon. The doctor said that it has all of these posh things in it to help you recover." A small click sounds, both the bottle and the glass are removed from his possession, and a new bottle is pressed into his grip. Taking it slower this time, Shinichi still finishes the whole thing.

"Any more?" the lively voice asks. Shinichi lifts his hand up and makes a gesture for 'a little more'. This time there is the sound of something being poured into a glass. "Hehe, this one is fruit juice, byon." Wondering why there was a snigger in that sentence, Shinichi carefully takes a sip from the glass. Finding nothing wrong with the taste he drinks some more of it. By now his headache has calmed considerably.

"Pineapple juice?" Shinichi asks before drinking the rest of the glass. From the other side of the room there is a sigh. The hands over his eyes tighten slightly and the body next to him shifts somewhat. A painful yelp- like a dog getting stepped on- follows the sound of an impact. If Shinichi had to guess then the smooth voiced one just kicked the cheerful voiced one.

Shinichi yawns and stretches his arms out infront of him. "Hm, why do I still feel so tired?" he asks, not used to this feeling.

"Kufufu, you totally drained your flame, My silly Shinichi. At the moment, you are literally running on empty. Go back to sleep and you'll feel better in the morning. I promise." Insists the silky smooth voice. Shinichi shakes his head, wanting to get up and moving. But a slight warmth radiates from the hands over his eyes, and suddenly he finds sleeping a very good idea. Carefully laying down, the hands still in place, Shinichi falls back to sleep.

"When is Shin-chan getting back?" whines Kaito for the tenth time that day, and it was only just after breakfast.

"He won't be back for a while, I think" comments Tsuna.

"What? Is Mukuro keeping him captive? Do I need to rescue him?" asks Kaito, dramatic hand motions aplenty. Tsuna, Lambo and Yamamoto all laugh at the actor whilst Gokudera just sighs.

"Oy, Ahoshi, isn't it time you left for school?" reminds Gokudera, checking his pocket watch.

"Wahh! It is! Oh god, I've got to hurry." Screams Lambo in a panic. Lambo goes stampeding down the hallway towards his room, one bored magician following

"Don't worry Lambo, I'll help. One quick change act coming up" chirps Kaito, voice quietening as he gets further away.

"Haha, those two seem to get along quite well." Observes Tsuna.

"That's because Kaito is a bigger child than Lambo is." Grumbles Gokudera.

"Maa, maa Gokudera, I think that Kaito is just more playful than the rest of us. I expect he has more energy than he knows what to do with. Plus, he's Lambo's idol. And Lambo certainly is a willing audience." Calms Yamamoto, patting Gokudera on the back. Gokudera bats the hand away.

"But you saw how serious he got yesterday. I really didn't expect him to stab Dino like that. I mean, we knew that it wouldn't hurt or anything, but still." Inputs Tsuna, looking at his friends. Both nod- Kaito couldn't have been more different then to the bouncing ball of positive energy they had just watch fly down the hallway.

"Well that's simple" comes a voice. All three look around, before Tsuna finally spots a lightshade that he had never seen before. He knew that the lightshades in this part of the house were not baby shaped, nor had two pairs of eyes. It still amazed Tsuna than none of the others could recognise him when Reborn used his disguises. The light shade detaches itself from the ceiling, before falling to the floor. "Kaito was playing with you."

All three blink. And blink again. "what?"

Reborn sighs. "He was playing with you. Shinichi and Kaito were bigger actors than you lot were. Kaito wanted to see your reaction to him stabbing Dino, who is a close friend to you all. And from my vantage point, he certainly got a good reaction too. At that moment in time, it wasn't the 'big-bad-wolf Boss' that got stabbed but your mentor and clumsy friend Dino. To add to the shock, you guys still aren't familiar with Kaito and Shinichi, so that made Kaito look like the enemy even more. Kaito and all of his multiple personas are showmen, and know how to get a reaction from their audience. You just did what he wanted you to."

"But why would Kaito want to make that impression?" asks Yamamoto, not seeing it as a funny joke.

"Hm I wonder why" asks Reborn in a falsely questioning voice. Of course he knows the answer. "It might have to do with what's coming next, right Tsuna?" Reborn gives Tsuna a knowing look before walking off.

"There it is again! Juudaime, what's going to happen soon?" asks Gokudera, exasperated with his lack of knowledge.

"damn that Reborn" Tsuna growls. He hears a very familiar gun cock behind him and runs for his life "Heeii. Reborn, I'm sorry."

Gokudera never got his answer.

With Lambo changed, packed and currently in a car with I-pin and Fuuta, Kaito no longer had anything else to do.

And a Kaito with nothing to do, creates something to do.

The most common sounds that day were Mafia-grade curses and famous, cackling laughter. Gun shots were a common occurrence, as was the sound of a knife thudding into a wall or the floor.

A little box next to Tsuna's office door gradually became fuller and fuller. This box was the Repayment Box. Looking at the Vongola accounts, it was clear that a lot of money was being spent on repairs and maintenance due to the Mafioso breaking doors, scratching walls or putting bullet holes in the furniture. So a solution had been found. Mafioso who caused damages, paid for them. And with all of the bullet holes and knife wounds this house was sustaining, that box was being used more than usual. And with security cameras all around the place, it wasn't as if any of them could get out of it either.

Several complaints were made to Tsuna over the course of the day, and Kaito's day suddenly turned into one big game of tag. Looking at those who had survived to eat lunch, Tsuna was presented with a Family who were sporting not only new hair styles and outrageous colours, but other unusual additions such as feathers, glitter, and in one case what seemed to be a whole bouquet of flowers. There was one thing common on all of the victims though, and that was an image, or a symbol really: a crescent moon with a clam shell centred between the points. This image was found on various body parts, ranging from cheeks, to necks to arms and hands. Tsuna was quite surprised that it wasn't the KID doodle instead that graced the bodies of his subordinates.

Eventually Gokudera had had enough and shut himself in Tsuna's office, willing to do any work just to get away from the stupid chaos outside. That left Ryohei, Yamamoto and Tsuna to catch and deal with a hyper active Kaito. Every time Yamamoto managed to grab Kaito, he would force some rain flames into his system, hoping to calm him down that way. However with Kaito's new control over multiple flames, this didn't really work. Ryohei spent over 2 hours on an EXTREME game of chase, charging down the hallways in an attempt to physically wear the magician out of energy. Finally, Tsuna had to step in.

Swinging around a corner laughing manically, that laughter quickly died out at the image infront of him. Standing further down the hallway was not Tsuna, but the man on fire they had seen earlier. Cold amber eyes stared Kaito down, giving a whole lecture in only one look. Quickly Kaito back peddled, turning around to run from this new threat. But Tsuna wasn't having that. With a quick burst of his flames, Tsuna rocketed down the hallway, grabbing Kaito's shoulders. Swerving, Tsuna pushed Kaito up against a wall. Yamamoto and Ryohei arrive at this point

"Well done Tsuna, you've got him." Congratulates Yamamoto

"Caught to the EXTREME" exclaims Ryohei, punching the air as usual.

"Would you like to become an ice sculpture again?" asks Tsuna, voice deep and smooth. Pressed against the wall, Kaito carefully shakes his head. "Didn't think so. Shinichi isn't your keeper, nor is he your toy, so stop acting up when he's not around. Now, be a good little Guardian and go to your room until dinner. There, you will publically apologise to everyone. Do I make myself clear?" a nod "good. This had better not happen again Kuroba. My men have more important things to do than be your toys or chess pieces." After a painful squeeze to Kaito's shoulders, Tsuna steps back and lets Kaito go. Kaito walks a few paces away, turns and bows to Tsuna.

Walking backwards, still bowing, Kaito sings "Well, I shall have to postpone the show. Until next time" and in a puff of smoke, he is gone.

"Now, I've got to sort out repairs for the mansion." Growls Tsuna, stalking back to his office. Deciding things would go quicker and smoother if he stayed as he was, Tsuna didn't turn off his flame. It was amazing what a voice like his could get the people on the other end of the phone to do.

The next day, Kaito certainly had something to do. But it was not, however, something he himself had planned to do.

"For breaking the peace of this house I shall bite you to death"

Reborn had set Hibari on him. Now whilst this makes Hibari sound like a scary dog, from Kaito's point of view, it couldn't have been more true. Reborn simply sat there, smiling at the pair, watching the carnage unfold.

"Moon:Mirror" shouts Kaito. Grabbing two playing cards from his pocket, he changes them into a perfect replica of Hibari's tonfas. "Bite me to death? Not if I remove your fangs first" For there is nothing wrong with self-defence, right.

Both rush forward at the same time and a clang reverberates around the training room. For a few moments, Kaito only defends, bringing the tonfas to block the sharp attacks that Hibari is relentless with. Hibari brings the right tonfa around, aiming straight for Kaito's ribs. Kaito blocks it with his own tonfa, before twisting his wrist so that his tonfa snakes around Hibari's. With a sharp twist and a tug, Kaito aims to make Hibari let go of his weapon. However, Hibari keeps ahold, but instead presses the bottom and releases the tonfa's teeth. Using these, he keeps Kaito's tonfa in place whilst he pulls his weapon back to him, pulling Kaito along too. Using his forward momentum, Kaito spins and brings the other tonfa over his head and straight into Hibari's shoulder. Hibari grins, a light flashing in his eyes.

"Wao, maybe you aren't as much of a herbivore as I thought you were. But with weak attacks like that, you'll never be a carnivore." Hibari says, a very small smile on his lips.

Due to the contorted position Kaito had ended up in, it is easy for Hibari to release Kaito's other tonfa, and kick Kaito across the training room. Kaito lands in a crouch, tonfas dragging across the floor, before coming to a stop. Pushing off the floor in a similar way to Olympic runners, Kaito launches himself at Hibari. Flicking his wrist, a smoke bomb drops into his hand, and he chucks it forward. Whilst Hibari is surrounded in the smoke, Kaito jumps around the back of Hibari and attacks. Around and around Hibari he jumps, attacking from as many different angles and heights as he can. Yet they are all blocked. The smoke clears, and Hibari opens his eyes.

"You blocked all of those with your eyes closed" gasps Kaito. Hibari smirks and moves his tonfas, light sliding down the length.

"A carnivore always knows where his prey is." He says, voice smooth yet dangerous.

Kaito's flame analyses all of this, the attacks it seen, the blows its felt, the way that Hibari's body moves and takes it all in, storing it away.

"Analysis complete" says Kaito, surprising himself. Where did that come from? He does a full body shake, almost like a dog removing water from its fur.

The atmosphere around Kaito changes; his stance becomes more threatening, a dangerous gleam fills his eyes. The grip on his tonfas changes and relaxes.

If he put on a disguise, it would be hard to tell the difference. At the moment, all Kaito's missing is Hibari's rings- and the power that goes with Roll of course. That's something he's not going to be able to copy.

The fight continues, blows becoming faster and harder. The sound of the tonfas meeting almost creates music, punctuated by thuds of kicks, the rattle of chains, and the odd gasp and deep breath. Reborn has missed this kind of music. It's been so long since he's been on the field.

A swing, a block, a flip. A jump, a slash, a punch. A duck, a swing, a kick. 1 2 3, 1 2 3, 1 2 3. It's no longer a battle but a piece of art Reborn is watching. Like dancers owning the stage, this battle looks so perfect that it could have been choreographed. Kaito cartwheels away from a side attack before jumping backwards and kicking off the wall. Hibari runs forward, ducking under the flying Kaito and punches his tonfa right into Kaito's stomach. Expecting this, Kaito brings his tonfa down hard on the back of Hibari's neck, before using the momentum from the punch to flip himself back to a standing position. Kaito spits out some blood whilst Hibari stands up.

Rolling his neck, Hibari smiles, enjoying this fight, before running and starting the dance again.

Finally his flame is strong enough to knock him out of the mist induced sleep. And as strange as it sounds Shinichi felt full again. Ever since Pandora had cried on him he had had this feeling of fullness. That only increased when he actively gained control of his flame. And now that feeling was back. Not as strong as it usually was, but definitely better than last time he remembered.

"Oya, oya, he's awake" whispers Mukuro.

"How do you know that? He hasn't moved nor opened his eyes yet." Asks Ken, sitting close to him as well.

"Mukuro-sama's flames told him." Comes a quiet yet strong voice, made even quieter through distance.

"Oh, stupid girl, what do you mean by that?" growls Ken.

"Ken, that'll be enough." Mukuro scolds, not liking the insult to Chrome. "She is correct though. Since I put My Shinichi asleep using one of my illusions, his flame counteracts that. His flame has gotten strong enough to consciously remove the illusion from him. Isn't that right, My flamed Detective."

"Hmm, 5 more minutes, Mukuro" Shinichi mumbles as he rolls over.

"I'd take that as a yes Ken" remarks Chikusa.

"Oya my sleepy Shinichi, I can't let you do that. Sit up, same as last time." Orders Mukuro.

"Same as last time?" asks Shinichi confused. He jumps when hands cover his eyes. "Mukuro what are you doing?"

"Hmm, you didn't seem to mind last time." Comments Mukuro, keeping his hands there anyway.

"Like I said, what last time? The last thing I remember was getting checked over by the doctor before I fell asleep again." Informs Shinichi.

Small sounds of confusion ring around the empty room.

"Well, My confused Shinichi, after you fell asleep, we brought you here to Kokuyo Land. Yesterday you woke up and we gave you some medicine and drinks. I had my hands over your eyes like this last time. Don't you remember?"

Carefully Shinichi shakes his head, careful of Mukuro's hands.

"Yare, Yare. That would explain why you never called us by our names last time. It seemed to me as if you didn't recognise us. You must have been running on Auto Pilot." Hypothesises Mukuro.

"Okay, I really don't remember that." Confirms Shinichi.

"Turn your flame up, tell me what drinks we gave you." Orders Mukuro

Shinichi does, turning his flame up slightly and trying to think. He gets these vague impressions. "Um, something fizzy, something sweet, and… some sort of fruit juice?" suggests Shinichi, not really knowing where this is coming from.

"Kufufu, just like I thought, you didn't have enough flame then to remember. It's fine, it doesn't really matter."

"It was cola, a sports drink and pineapple juice we gave you" comments Chikusa.

"Okay, putting that aside, Mukuro, why are your hands covering my eyes?" asks Shinichi,

"I'll answer than in a second, Ken has something for you. Like I said, same as last time" Carefully Shinichi sits up. A cold glass is pressed against his hand, before the other hand is pressed against Shinichi's free hand. Taking the glass and opening his other hand, Shinichi feels some small capsules fall into his hand. Shinichi gives a slight shudder. Mukuro could feel it, but the others couldn't see it.

"I hate pills like these" Shinichi sighs, taking them anyway.

"Kufufu, bring back memories, my Shrunken detective?" Mukuro laughs

"Very funny Mukuro." Shinichi drawls sarcastically. "Now will you answer the question?" Shinichi taps Mukuro's hands as a reminder of the topic at hand.

"Yare, yare, impatient as usual. Orders from above I'm afraid. You severely strained your eyes, they are beyond tired at the moment. I've been told to make sure you don't open your eyes for the next few days." Mukuro stops, thinking for a moment. "Shinichi, lower your flame and let me in."

Shinichi blushes before stuttering "W-what do you mean? Why?"

Mukuro laughs out loud, finding the blushing detective cute. "You've never seen what you look like in your Star Observation mode, have you. It might help you to see why you need to rest your eyes. Not only did you drain your flame to the point of exhaustion in helping Kaito to fight Dino, you also use the muscles in your eyes more than usual. Let me in and you'll see."

"Oh, alright them. I just have to lower my flame right, so it doesn't fight yours off." Shinichi takes a deep breath, finding the flame inside and willing it to get smaller. Concentrating, he nods to Mukuro.

Mukuro moves from his position on the arm of the sofa to sit on the very edge, facing Shinichi. Changing the position of his hands to something more comfortable, he places the heel of his palms on Shinichi's cheek bones, and spreads his fingers, covering Shinichi's forehead and temples. Ken, Chikusa and Chrome all gather round, wanting a closer look at what's going on.

Shinichi feels a warmth coming from those fingers, before the blackness behind his eyes goes purple.

Opening the eyes in his mind, he finds him and Mukuro sitting in a library.

"Where is this?" asks Shinichi.

"Kufufu, this is a representation of your mind My intelligent Shinichi. The way you have organised all of your memories is similar to case files and books, hence why it's manifested itself as a library." Answers Mukuro, running hands over the books.

"Wow, you really did over use your eyes" Mukuro comments, brushing soothing hands of mist over the muscles and nerves of Shinichi's eyes. "Grr, Shinichi! You should have told me the headache was this bad. It seems as if the pills haven't kicked in yet. One moment."

Shinichi feels Mukuro's presence in his mind shift, and the Mukuro in the library disappears, only to reappear a moment later.

"There, that should be better. Yes, certainly less of a headache now"

Shinichi blinks, looking at the man infront of him. It's true that the headache has eased up.

"What on earth are you doing? How can you tell all of this?" wonders Shinichi, utterly speechless.

"Kufufufu, I am more than just the world's best illusionist. Due to the Estrano's experiments, I'm also well versed in possession. An illusionist can take over your perception, take control of your senses, tell your body what to see. One who can possess can delve further into your mind, take fuller control of the perceptions. I can go as far down as your subconscious, I can tell exactly what you are thinking. Put simply, by using a mix of the two, I can enter your mind like this and feel exactly what your body is feeling. Furthermore, I can also control what your body feels. I can make you feel pain" and something similar to a knife pierces Shinichi's chest making him shout.

Outside, all three jump back as Shinichi arcs his back and gives a shout of pain.

"I can make you feel pleasure" a wild heat runs through Shinichi and his breath hitches.

"I can make you feel nothing at all." Suddenly the feeling goes and Shinichi can't feel anything.

"I've already told your body to hurry up and digest those pills you took earlier, hence why the headache is fading away. And now, I'll show you how your Star Observation looks to others. Hearing and seeing are two very different things My amazing detective." He wonders over to a shelf and picks a book up. Walking over, he places the book on the coffee table and sits next to Shinichi on a sofa. Opening the book, it replays an image of Shinichi's Star Observation technique from Shinichi's own point of view. "How very interesting. It's amazing what that flame of yours picks up. Now see it from my eyes." Mukuro turns the page over, presenting a blank sheet. Passing his hand over the blank page, a new video appears.

"Star Observation"

Shinichi watches as the colour leaves his eyes. However instead of it being all black like the others said, it's actually his iris changing colour to represent his flames. Barely visible are the little white flecks of stars. Once fully changed, the pen leaps out of his hand, black flame surrounding it. Shinichi gasps at what he sees next. Whilst fully knowing that the world slows down, it's strange seeing his eyes flick left and right at hyper speed- looking for all the world like a crazed insecure man seeing hallucinations. His eyes never stay still, always flicking left and right, looking at the ceiling and towards the floor. The pen in his hand moves without any guiding force, totally independent of his hand. Shinichi didn't even know his eyes could move that fast. And even more suddenly, his eyes just stop, no evidence of slowing down, just straight up stop. He blinks and the blue is back. A hand goes to his head before he staggers slightly.

Mukuro closes the book. "And you did that for the whole assignment. Add in the adrenaline and focus and it's no wonder I've been told to cover your eyes up. That's one dangerous but useful skill you have there."

Bang!

Kaito ducks and covers his head, flying shrapnel scoring his arm. A shadow looms out of the smoke and Kaito rolls out of the way of a tonfa attack.

Something rattles against the floor infront of his position, and by the time Kaito can tell what it is, it explodes. Kaito is sent flying backwards, straight into a tonfa. Hooking his leg around Hibari's, Kaito sends him to the floor, before turning his attention to Smokin' Bomb Hayato. Changing his flame to Storm, a flick of his hand produces dynamites between each finger. Running forward, he lights one, sending more smoke into the smog filled room. Realising that Hibari has now stood up, Kaito makes a quick circuit of Gokudera, dropping dynamites all around the bomber, before running straight at Hibari. Changing to a Cloud Flame, Kaito springs over Hibari's head, blocking the hits Hibari tries to get in. Landing in a crouch, the bombs around Gokudera go off. Kaito is unharmed due to a living Cloud Guardian shield. A cry can be heard from Gokudera, whilst shrapnel cuts a line across Hibari's cheek.

Kaito backs off, jumping over training equipment and standing on the tallest one. Finally in clear air again, he takes a deep breath, before diving back into the smoke.

"Ne, kid, how did you get Hibari to fight with Gokudera in the room, fighting the same opponent?" asks Yamamoto. He and Reborn are in an observation room, staying clear of the smoke, watching the battle unfold.

"He's too interested in Kaito to care at the moment. He's enjoying himself" remarks Reborn, adjusting his fedora

"Haha, kid, that's a funny joke" laughs Yamamoto.

Using the tonfa in his hand, Kaito knocks the dynamite out of Gokudera's. It goes flying to the side and explodes in Hibari's face. Hibari has just enough time to deflect the dynamite, saving him from a full frontal blast. Not letting that deter him, Hibari keeps running, swings his tonfa at Kaito and lands a hit on Gokudera instead.

"Oy, watch what you're doing" shouts Gokudera.

Kaito swings the tonfa when Gokudera is busy shouting at Hibari and scores a hit to the back of Gokudera's knee. Immediately Gokudera bucks, knees slamming against the tiles of the floor. One swift kick to the chest and Gokudera slides across the floor, banging into the wall. Hibari swings his tonfa into Kaito's chest whilst he is off balance from his kick, and Kaito ends up on his ass on the floor. Immediately he pushes off the floor with his arms, bringing himself back to an upright position, and uses that momentum to head-butt Hibari. Whilst Hibari takes a step backwards, Kaito comes in with another tonfa attack. Hibari lets it hit, but instead catches Kaito's arm. Holding Kaito in his vicinity, he gives Kaito a hard whack to the head. Kaito stumbles sideward, vision going blurry. He hears a slight hissing sound, but with tears in his eyes, he can't see what's causing it. Kaito trips on something on the ground and the hissing gets closer.

A line of gunpowder connects Kaito's current position, the pile of dynamites that he's just tripped over, and Gokudera. Having spread the line of gunpowder when he was kicked, Gokudera lit it at the perfect time for it to explode when Kaito tripped over the dynamites. Once the explosion clears, a bruised and battered Kaito is laying on the floor on his back, taking in deep breaths whilst waving a little white flag.

"Analysis complete. I need a break." He announces.

Still in the library, Shinichi puts the book away for later reference before turning back to Mukuro.

"So is this how you talk with Chrome? You said you kept in contact with the world with her as a medium." Shinichi sits in a chair opposite from Mukuro, a book open on his lap, pen in his hand.

"That is correct. The place where we meet is a grass plateau, with trees. There we both wear white, her in a dress, me in loose trousers and a shirt. Shows her innocence I suppose." Replies Mukuro, noting that Shinichi's pen is writing all of this down.

"But why her? Why Chrome specifically?" interrogates Shinichi.

"Well I met her when I was wondering through dreams. When I was captured in the Vendicare Prison, my body was asleep and immobile, yet my mind was free to wander. Chrome had been in a car accident, trying to save a cat. In that accident she lost her right eye and most of the organs in her belly. Her mother was not willing to be a donor nor did she try to help Chrome in any way at all. Currently, I provide organs for her, using an illusion, but with her control over her own flame, she can do it if she needs to. Chrome was ready to die, but I gave her a reason to live again, as has Tsunayoshi. Both of us gave her three little words. Three little words that she desperately needed to hear: I need you. She has made a large effort over the past 5 years to become more socially adept - something brought about by Tsuna's girls. Even though she is quiet, she is strong, and fiercely loyal to me."

Looking up from his trip down memory lane, Mukuro sees two books on Shinichi's lap, rather than the one there was earlier.

"Vendicare prison doesn't sound nice. So in the time we've been apart you've become an illusionist that even the mafia are scared of. You are such a threat that you needed to be sedated the whole time." Comments Shinichi. Mukuro nods and waves his hand. An image appears on one of the books and Shinichi recoils before leaning closer to examine it.

"That is a photo Tsunayoshi had taken just before he released me. I had been kept in that chamber for a very long time- over four and a half years. Tsunayoshi has only just released me. It took quite a while for me to recover. As soon as I was able, I left Vongola's care and recuperated here instead. I didn't want all of them to see how laughable I had become. I had to get my muscles to work again, and to be able to hold my weight. I had to bring my vocal cords back into working order. And even after I could walk again, it took a very long time for my body to become what it once was. In fact, that is why I've brought you here. I'm sure that you wouldn't want the others to see you in such a vulnerable state. And I'm sure that the thief would have driven you up the wall. So I brought you here, where you can recuperate in peace. Since you can no longer open your eyes until at least tomorrow, we shall provide whatever you need. You are part of the Gang after all".

"Hmm, that sounds plausible. For a normal person. But you hardly ever do something nice for people. So what's the catch?" Shinichi questions, knowing that there must be more to it than slight personal embarrassment. I'm not just another toy to him, am I?

"Kufu, so suspicious Shinichi. I assure you, there is no catch. May I not do a kind deed for someone I care about? Even someone like me is not that heartless. I did sacrifice myself so that Ken and Chikusa could escape. I killed the Estrano Family to try and save someone I loved. There is more to me than you may think" Suggests Mukuro. "However, I believe that it would be better to leave now. We've spent enough time here chatting." Mukuro disintegrates into mist, his presence leaves Shinichi's mind, and Shinichi returns his flame to normal.

Mukuro returns to his seat on the arm of the sofa, moving his hands accordingly.

"And there you have it. So now be a good detective and let us look after you" Says Mukuro, letting the others know they have returned.

"Who else is here with us Mukuro?" asks Shinichi shakily. He doesn't recognise that fragrance, nor that breathing pattern. They must have arrived whilst they were 'away'.

"Kufufu, whatever do you mean Shinichi" asks Mukuro airily, winking at the person and holding a finger to his lips.

"Mukuro, I am not a fool. If I can hear 6 different people breathing including myself, then there must be someone else here. And that scent of apples hasn't come from nowhere."

"But that could be Ken drinking a glass of apple juice" remarks Mukuro.

"Humph, I think Ken has more… tropical tastes than apples. And you'd better tell whoever it is to take a new breath before they die of asphyxiation. It'd certainly be my quickest case yet."

There is silence for a moment.

"Oh for heaven's sake Mukuro, tell them it's not worth using an illusion to cover themselves up. Now tell me who it is before I remove your hands and open my eyes!" Shouts Shinichi. He's feeling slightly paranoid about not knowing who else is in the room. There is an urgent almost primal need to know who exactly is in the room with him. For all he knows, it could be an Organisation member.

Immediately, two more pairs of hands are placed on top of Mukuro's, the force send him rocking back into the sofa. There is a growl next to his ear.

"Shini-chan, don't you dare." Growls Ken.

"Alright, alright. Geez you guys are taking this a bit too seriously if you ask me" defends Shinichi, holding his hands in the air.

"Master, what game are you all playing? If you are all trying to suffocate him, then it's better to go for the mouth you know" comes a sarcastic yet monotonous voice. Another hand places itself on Shinichi's face, directly over his mouth. Shinichi kicks out, slamming the person infront of him. Bringing the pen from his pocket, he has it to that person's neck before the others realise Shinichi is out of their grip.

"If I push 2 inches deeper then not only can I cut a carotid artery, but also your oesophagus. You'll bleed out and drown at the same time. You'll be dead before they can even phone for help." Shinichi threatens

"Master, your prisoner has a knife to my throat. It hurts. Make it stop" the voice didn't sound troubled, nor like it was in pain. In fact it didn't sound any different from earlier.

One hand over his eyes, one hand in the middle of his chest, Mukuro forces Shinichi to sit back on the sofa.

"My darling Chrome, come here for a second." Mukuro motions for her to stand just behind him, and directly behind Shinichi. "Shinichi, let Chrome be your eyes. Whilst not entering you mind like I did, she can still change your perception so that you can see what she is seeing. It's not quite a dream or nightmare, but since your eyes are not open, it's not sight either."

"Anything, I don't care. I just need to see them" breaths Shinichi shakily.

"I don't know what you are worried about Shinichi. Mukuro-sama wouldn't bring one of them here. Especially whilst you are recovering." Notes Chikusa, leaning against a wall at the opposite end of the couch.

"I know, I know that. But it's still there. I suppose it scared me that I didn't feel them enter the room; they were suddenly just there. This 'limitation' doesn't help either." Shinichi tries to calm himself down with his words. He jumps when a loud clink of Chrome's trident hitting the floor sounds. Feeling her flame brush his, he lowers his guard and an image starts to form.

The first thing Shinichi notices is red. A huge apple shaped red hat. Looking down, there is green hair and a childish face. Dark blue triangular tattoos peak out from the corners of his eyes.

I'd better not comment on the fruit theme here. Decides Shinichi, not wanting to incur the wrath of Mukuro.

"Hiiiiii~" this boy greets.

"Um, Hi to you too." Says Shinichi, looking the boy up and down.

"You are a detective, so are you here to take the Pineapple away? He's very mean you know" the boy asks. Shinichi finds the lack of tone slightly disturbing. But then again, what here at Vongola hasn't been strange or disturbing at first.

Mukuro stabs the boy with his own materialised trident, straight through the apple hat.

"Oww. See what I mean. Master, that hurts." Again no pain enters his voice.

"Do you want me to cut you up and make you into a pie?" frowns Mukuro in retaliation to the Pineapple taunt.

"Oh, very funny Master. Apple Flan, I get it" still no change. Ken however is in a fit of giggles, rolling around on the floor like a dog.

"Am I supposed to find that funny?" asks Shinichi, not getting the joke.

"My analytical Shinichi, may I introduce my student Flan."

Ptshhhh.

A cloud of pink smoke that Kaito did not release slowly clears. Out of the mist comes a figure- an adult size figure.

"Yare, yare, this brings back memories." The voice is deep and uncaring, a slight hint of wonder there too.

Kaito doesn't have time to worry about this new person for they aren't attacking him; Hibari is. Pivoting on his heels, Kaito faces Hibari and blocks the first swing. The second quickly follows, followed by a third as Hibari disengages Kaito's tonfa. Kaito swings upwards, pushing the tonfa and attached arm into the air. Just in time, Hibari's raised arm deflects a bomb and it explodes harmlessly across the other side of the room.

The lights in the room flicker.

Kaito and Hibari exchange blows with hardly any getting through. Hibari lands more blows than Kaito does though. Slowly Kaito is pushed backwards. Sensing someone behind him, Kaito jumps, lands on Gokudera's shoulders, before Gokudera gets a tonfa in the ribs. Walking down Gokudera's back as Gokudera jerks forwards, Kaito lands harmlessly on the other side. Hibari does an acrobatic version of Leapfrog over Gokudera's back, tonfa swinging down with more force than before. Kaito is forced to block with both tonfas and is driven to his knees. Recovering, Gokudera turns and chucks a mini-bomb through Hibari's legs, right into the face of the crouching Kaito. With both tonfas currently engaged, he can't defend himself from the explosion. Letting the force of the explosion push him away from Hibari, Kaito changes flames again, and changes more cards into dynamites. Opening his arms in a wide arc, dynamites fly away from him at different angles and heights. But what the others don't realise, it that he's sent them flying at different speeds too. As Hibari jumps away from the first dynamite to reach him, his landing position is confronted by more dynamite. Gokudera rolls away from a different dynamite, only to come face to face with some more. Jumping over these, Gokudera runs towards Kaito. Only to have a new wave of dynamite flying towards him.

In the explosion that follows, they don't see the lights dim drastically again.

The smoke clears and Kaito has height advantage, standing on top of some of the equipment in the room. Two quick jumps and Hibari is there too, a rain of attacks following in immediate succession. One lucky tonfa to the jaw gives Kaito just enough time to flip off the equipment and land on the floor.

Just as the lights go out altogether.

"Electrico cornata"

When the lights flick on again, the new man is only a step away from him, head lowered, looking like a charging bull. Kaito just has time to notice horns attached to either side of this man's head before they hit him in the chest. The bull keeps on charging until Kaito slams into a wall. Kaito can feel the electricity enter his body, and his body spasms. Kaito shouts out in pain and the lightening thunders around his body, causing muscles to move without his permission. For Kaito it seems to last an eternity. However sooner or later the potency of the attack lessens and eventually it stops altogether. Dragging his horns down, the man scores two deep scratches on Kaito's chest before jumping away.

"Well done Ahoshi. You finally hit someone with that attack! The last time I saw that attack work was years ago in the ring battle. But you were 25 at the time." cheers Gokudera.

"Ahoshi?" gasps Kaito, not in shock but from how painful his body is at the moment. It's really only the wall keeping him up.

"I've been training hard, unlike you Bakadera. A lot has happened in 10 years."

"10 years? So this is 20 year old Lambo then. I'm finally seeing the famous 10-year-bazooka in action." Kaito coughs, and tries to move a few muscles. Slowly, far too slowly for Kaito's pleasure, the muscles come back under his control. Kaito barely misses a tonfa attack, sliding far enough that it hit his hair instead of his head.

Kaito runs across the room, forcing muscles to do his bidding. Dropping one tonfa, Kaito draws another card and changes that into a copy of one of Lambo's horns. But instead of 'Ahoshi' scribbled in Gokudera's distinctive scrawl, it's that image again: A moon and a clam. Taking a look at the dropped tonfa, Gokudera notices that sign on there too. Seeing Gokudera's attention slide from him, Kaito slams the tonfa into the back of Gokudera's neck. Gokudera ducks just in time, before flicking out a kick. It catches Kaito's hip, sending the magician stumbling. Kaito grabs Gokudera's shoe and twists, sending the bomber onto his back. He feels the last of the lightening's effects dissipate into the rubber of Gokudera's shoe.

Leaving Gokudera on the ground, Kaito adjusts his grip on the horn before running towards Older Lambo. He changes his flame to Lightening, feeling the horn collect the flames. He runs right up to Older Lambo, getting directly into Lambo's face with one of his unhinged smiles on his face. Like he thought, Lambo freezes slightly, not retaliating to Kaito's presence. Bringing all of the flames to focus on the point of the horn, Kaito brings it down hard and fast, scratching a line from left shoulder to right hip. Yet it doesn't do as much damage as he thought it would. Admittedly there is the scratch, bleeding lightly, but Older Lambo doesn't seem otherwise fazed. In fact, Kaito felt his flames leave him.

Older Lambo looks down at Kaito before smirking. "Electrico Cuoio" he says proudly, fist knocking against his chest. The other fist comes up knocking into Kaito's jaw. Turning the stumble into a spin, Kaito uses his tonfa to block Hibari's before sending a lightening filled horn bounding over Hibari's leg. It rips through the trousers and scores the muscle, bleeding sluggishly. That leg then twitches, before Hibari jumps backwards, favouring the wounded leg.

It worked on Hibari so why not Lambo. I don't know enough Italian to know what that means. Shin-chan and I have been learning it in our spare time, but I still don't have a clue what Cuoio means.

"Analysis complete" says Kaito mechanically. Shaking his head, he asks "What? It can't be complete. I don't know how he blocked that hit!"

Ignoring Kaito's confusion, Hibari leans down and picks up Kaito's other tonfa from the floor. Grinning in that predator way of his, he wipes it against his t-shirt before holding it between his jaws. He runs at Kaito, not as fast as before, and jumps, adding in a twist. One tonfa attacks Kaito's shoulder, barely blocked by Kaito's own tonfa.

"Kaito, it's something you wouldn't have known about." Comes Yamamoto's voice over the intercom.

The second quickly follows the first, attacking Kaito's stomach. Kaito moves the hand with the horn in it, deflecting that blow.

"It's an ability that you wouldn't be able to copy, so your flame ignored it"

Hibari's head follows the flying spin, bringing in the third tonfa attack slamming into Kaito's temple. Kaito kicks Hibari's damaged leg and the Prefect hisses slightly. He pushes forwards with the tonfa defending his shoulder, and slams it into Hibari's chest, in the tender bit above the armpit. Hibari quickly withdraws that arm, removing the pressure on his shoulder too.

"Without including Box weapons, Electrico Cornata is the only move 10 year old Lambo can do. I'm not too sure about 20 year old Lambo." Adds Yamamoto.

"But that doesn't tell me what this Cuoio is" growls Kaito through gritted teeth.

This time, Reborn answers "Literally meaning Electric Leather, Lambo's body has changed its physiology to be able to accept Lightening attacks. His body is a literal lightening rod, and he gets hit with it anytime he goes out in a storm. Since Lightening is a form of electricity, he can absorb any electrical attacks into his body and turn it into his own power by discharging it. It's a trait special to Lambo and one your flame cannot copy in any way shape or form, hence Analysis Complete."

So the closest thing I can do is to electrocute people and paralyse their limbs for short amounts of time. It seems that Hibari has the will power to overcome that though.

Kaito flips the tonfa in the air, changes flame, flics out a dynamite and lets it go into the space in between him and Hibari, all in under 2 seconds. Catching his only tonfa, Kaito leaps away from Hibari, letting Hibari take the full force of the detonation.

Changing back to a Cloud flame, he channels Hibari as he attacks Older Lambo. A small battle ensues, with Kaito's tonfa and horn against Lambo's punches and kicks.

Eventually Kaito sees an opening and he ducks under an attack of Older Lambo's. Spinning, he kicks Older Lambo straight in the stomach. However, once he's made contact, a pink cloud of smoke covers the pair. Suddenly the weight and resistance against Kaito's kick changes, and out of the smoke flies normal Lambo. He sails through the air and smashes into one of the lights on the wall. He screams as the shock, but absorbs the electricity anyway. He falls from the wall, landing in a smoking heap.

"Ahoshi" shouts Gokudera, running towards Lambo. He picks Lambo up and walks towards the elevator doors. "You said analysis complete right, so you don't need either of us here" The doors open and Gokudera and Lambo leave.

Mukuro extends a hand in Shinichi's direction. "Flan this is the man I was telling you about, the one and only, Heisei Homes, Kudo Shinichi."

"Oh, so you're Master's teacher then." Asks Flan. Shinichi looks confused for a second, before guessing at the boy's meaning.

"Not a teacher no, since I can't do illusions myself, but I improved them certainly. Mentor, guide, test track, guinea pig, take your pick."

Flan opens his mouth to answer that back, but Mukuro gets there first, giving Flan a sharp 'don't you dare' look. "Fran has been a student of mine since we got back from the past. He had lost his memories of the future, but with a little work, I got them back."

"Yes, nothing like a mental bulldozing for a bonding session." Remarks Flan.

"We had a little run in with the Varia when we went to France to get him, but he decided he wanted to stay with us. Since then, I have taught him all I know, including what you taught me, and he is now another person who can fool the Vindiche guards."

"He wasn't here last time I came over" notes Shinichi.

"He was on a Varia mission, byon" answers Ken. "Sometimes their own illusionist isn't around, or doesn't co-operate and they bring him in instead. Where was it this time? Mexico?"

"Yeah, Mexico. I can become an excellent Cactus now. They liked my hat, since it fits with their sombreros. Just an infiltration and information gathering really. Mammon was in England, doing something to gain her a lot of cash, as usual." Flan inputs, rubbing his hat.

A phone rings near Shinichi's ears.

"Um, Shini-sempai…" mumbles Chrome

"Sure, you can let go of the illusion now. I'm alright." Shinichi assures.

A small tap rings, Chrome's flame leaves his mind, and the black returns.

Chrome rummages around in a pocket and finds her phone, turning the alarm off. "Excuse me Mukuro-sama but I must leave now"

Mukuro nods regally at her "Of course Chrome. Have fun." Shinichi didn't want to see the smile attached to a voice like that. He expected that it would remind him of KID, on a very bad day.

"Remember what I said."

"Yes, Reborn"

The doors open and they step inside.

"Now, now, Kaito, my son, what an unexpected surprise it is to find you here." Announces the voice as its owner enters the room.

Kaito freezes in place, letting Hibari get three successive hits in, before getting kicked to the other side of the room. Kaito coughs, before looking back to the entrance. He stands and takes a shaky step, hand out stretched

"F-father"

My predecessor!

My Inspiration!

"It's been so long Kaito. I haven't been able to see you since I had to fake my death." The man walks forwards and brushes his hand along Kaito's cheek. Kaito leans into the touch, breathing in a long forgotten scent. Eyes sharpen and Kaito harshly places his hands on his father's shoulders. Pushing down, he forces his dad onto his knees, whilst using him as a platform to flip over. Kaito's leg swings down and pins Hibari's tonfa to the floor. Shaking his head, Hibari uses the tonfa in his mouth to clout Kaito's ankle. Releasing his hands from his father's shoulders, he flips over Hibari and continues until he is the other side of the room. Hibari bounds forwards, following his prey.

His father talks over the clanging sounds of battle.

"I faked my death using some contacts I had here at Vongola. I had hoped that they wouldn't investigate and harm you if the Organisation thought KID was dead. Luckily they never found out my true identity, so you and your mother were safe. Yet you revived KID, and you are here. Why Kaito!" Toichi roars.

"You could have explained that!" cries KID, sending a smoke bomb into Hibari's face and leaping off some equipment to hang from the ceiling. "I was trying to find Pandora for your sake!"

A tonfa appears out of the smoke, and KID kicks it ways, letting it rebound off a wall and back to Hibari.

"I was going to find Pandora and crush it, destroy it, make sure it never got into their hands" KID stares his Predecessor down from his position, tears running down his cheeks.

"Yet like some Grand Illusion, you appear before me" shouts the Magician in rage.

( "Wow, quite a reaction there" )

A click of the Magician's hand and in a cloud of smoke he appears before his Inspiration, hard eyes staring defiantly into relaxed ones. The Magician swipes his hand behind him and knives fly towards Hibari, pinning him to a wall.

"Not one visit, not one note, not one dove to say you were alright. If you truly were KID, or even half the Magician the world claims you were, then how hard would it be to come in a disguise? Kaito had to grow up without a Dad. I had to grow up without a teacher! Do you know how hard that was? And yet you stand there, not one tear in your eyes."

Another click behind his back, more smoke, and suddenly Hibari finds himself in an ankle length dress. A pink dress, with lots of frills and bows. Hibari never realised how hard it was to move in such an outfit. He could barely run, let alone jump, kick or flip. And how was he supposed to place the tonfas against his arms if there were frills and puffy sleeves in the way? In indignation and impatience he rips the sleeves off the dress, and rips the bottom half of the dress off, chucking the useless fabric away from him. He steps forwards ready to attack again. Kaito whirls around, his eyes fierce and slightly crazy, making bloodlust gleam in Hibari's. One step at a time, shoes echoing in the silent room, KID advances on Hibari. Intent and Purposeful. The Magician keeps on walking, eyes never leaving Hibari's. Hibari's heart rate picks up and his blood rushes in excitement.

A Carnivore. That's what I see before me. I haven't felt like this in ages. I want to rip him to pieces, claw his throat out, leave him painted in glorious red blood. I want to see his corpse, cold and unmoving beneath my feet, tonfas gleaming ruby in the light. Come Kuroba Kaito, let me feel alive again!

The battle that follows is the wildest one yet, blood flying freely. No one knows what's happened to Kaito's no one gets harmed rule. Maybe it only applies to KID heists. Maybe it only applies to that 'safe environment' filled with laughter, shouts and playful pranks. Maybe it only applies to the Fairy tale of Chibi-tantei, Policemen in black and Phantom thieves in white, where nothing is as it seems.

"Kaito, you do not need to be in Vongola. Come back with me and we can go back to the way it was. Me, you and your mother." Offers Toichi. That voice and offer cuts through the red haze of anger. Memories of the past he had flash before his eyes.

And that's when it clicks

Changing his flame to Mist, he is certain of it.

"Mukuro, cut the crap. That is not my father. Drop the illusion." Kaito shouts, blocking another hit from Hibari.

"If it's an illusion, then you won't mind me doing this" says Yamamoto, entering the room. He walks over to Toichi, sword gleaming as it bounces on his shoulders. Carefully, he brings his sword to rest against Toichi's neck. "Are you willing to play the game?" Yamamoto's smile doesn't really match the atmosphere, as if he is oblivious to Kaito's mood at the moment.

"I don't care, it's only an illusion after all." Kaito turns his back to Yamamoto, leaving the swordsman to do as he will.

"You are half right" says Reborn through the speakers. "It's an illusion alright, but by Chrome, not Mukuro. Mukuro is still by Shinichi's side."

Kaito would reply, but he is too busy trying to fend Hibari off. Whilst Kaito may have snapped out of his anger, Hibari's eyes still show blood lust.

"Kaito jump back" shouts Tsuna as soon as the elevator doors open. A rocket of flame, he slams into Hibari, gloves to tonfas.

Doing what he is told, Kaito jumps back, feeling the heat as Tsuna flies past.

In the corner of the room, Chrome materialises. "May I ask what went wrong?" Chrome enquires. "The image was one I collected from a photo I saw of him. The rest of the situation, however, I made up. As far as I know, your father really did die. As far as Boss knows, we are not harbouring your father. There is not an ounce of truth in the situation presented to you. How did you know it was not him?"

Keeping an eye on the fight behind him, Kaito turns his attention to Chrome. "He hadn't aged. From my memories of him as a child, he hadn't aged a bit. He was killed over 10 years ago, there is no possible way he couldn't have aged."

"I see, that's understandable. Do you still need me to do illusions, your flame hasn't analysed me enough yet, if I understand correctly." Replies Chrome.

"Your flame will finish Chrome's analysis early too Kaito." Warns Yamamoto. "Reborn said so. Since she is connected to Mukuro, she can use some of his abilities, although so far it's only in depth illusions and summoning animals. That's not something your flame can copy. She has been told to act as any mist illusionist would do."

"Alright, follow orders Chrome. Yamamoto, I'm ready when you are. Just mind the duo behind us alright. I need to watch Tsuna to analyse his flame as well." Kaito sighs, resigning himself to more training. Dropping the tonfa, he flicks another card into his hand, (With all of these dynamites I've been producing I'm going to run out of cards soon. Maybe I can use the confetti?) and turns it into a copy of Yamamoto's sword, the moon and clam symbol stamped just above the hilt.

Kaito has seen Yamamoto fight with his sword a lot recently, once at the fake heist, and once more when they were trying out this move. He even caught a glimpse of him fighting Dino too. These two should go quickly. Both take a deep breath before sitting in their stances. Yamamoto rushes in first and a few practice swings are traded. He jumps back, dodging a sword attack, only to be attacked by a trident from behind. The trident pierces his shirt, scores a wound in his side before ripping the shirt. Chrome spins the trident, using the other end to attack Kaito's other side. Kaito jumps out of range before setting an illusion on Yamamoto. As Yamamoto jumps forwards towards Kaito, he gets the feeling that he's falling. Totally forgetting that this level is the furthest and last level underground, a hole opens underneath him and he falls. Kaito knows that this illusion will be quite real, having experienced the feeling every time KID jumped off a skyscraper. However a moment later Yamamoto feels as if he is slowing down and he lightly sets foot on the ground.

"It's not good if I can take control of your illusion. It's weak Kaito" Scolds Chrome, running towards him for another attack. Shaking the feeling of the illusion off, Yamamoto also runs towards Kaito. Sword and trident attack in quick succession. Kaito finds himself changing between Rain to dodge, defend and attack, and Mist to cast illusions on the pair.

"Shigure Soen Ryu fourth defensive form, Gofuu Juuu," Shouts Yamamoto. This attack, known as May Wind, October Rain allows him to synchronise with his opponent, letting him attack and defend better.

Skidding to a stop after a collision between a trident and his stomach, Kaito has just enough time to take a quick look at what Tsuna is doing. His flames have melted one of Hibari's tonfas, and the chain of the other one is wrapped around Tsuna's wrist. Tsuna's fists are alight with flame.

"I want to join in. Train to the EXTREME!" Booms Ryohei as soon as the elevator doors open. Wisely staying clear of the fight in the corner, Ryohei makes his way to where Kaito, Yamamoto and Chrome are. "Reborn told me about your training regime Kaito. It seems like I'm the last one here though."

Whilst Kaito looks at Ryohei, Yamamoto snakes his sword around Kaito's and twists, releasing Kaito's grip. He goes to swing at Kaito again, but Kaito cartwheels away from it. Yamamoto picks up Kaito's fallen sword, drops it again and kicks it.

"Shigure Soen Ryu, third offensive form Yarazu No Ame"

"Analysis complete" says Kaito, pushing off from the cartwheel into a spin like an acrobat, totally clearing Yamamoto's attack. "I'm guessing that between all of our fights, I've seen all of your forms, apart from the Box weapon ones."

Chrome is there when he lands, coming with an upwards thrust. Kaito uses the tonfa in his hand to block the attack. Metal rings against metal at the impact. Chrome draws her trident down and back up, slipping one of the prongs under the tonfa. With a twist and a pull, she disarms Kaito.

"Analysis complete. I've gauged your physical abilities now too Chrome. You can leave if you want to." Kaito smiles at the girl, who turns out to be more of a threat than he expected. She bows before exiting the training room.

"Ready to enter the ring Ryohei" Kaito asks. Just two more to go and then I can end this hell. I wonder how Shinichi is?

Shinichi is currently laying back, snacking on crisps and whatever else Ken had to hand, listening to the Radio. He likes to keep up with world and local events. They often featured in some of his murders. The others were about, doing whatever they did during their free time. It seemed that they had a few days off to look after him.

Shinichi sits up, stretches and stands up. The others look at him, but don't say anything. Turning his flame up higher, Shinichi recalls the layout of the building; Mukuro had given him a tour last time he came over. With the highly accurate picture his flame created, Shinichi can easily walk from there to the kitchen. He smiles as he hears footsteps behind him, their owner, Mukuro if the sound of heels was correct, keeping a close eye on him. He arrives at the kitchen and stands infront of the fridge. Opening it, he realises that he doesn't know where anything is in the fridge. "Umm, Mukuro, where's the cola?" Asks Shinichi, in the mood for the sugar.

"Bring your arm to your hip, that's right. 30cm forwards. That's it." Mukuro guides, understanding Shinichi's need for independence. Shinichi was not someone who would sit around and let others play Butler.

In the other room, a phone goes off. Shinichi recognises it as his, currently sat inside his jacket on the sofa.

"Could someone look at that for me?" he requests "Who's the caller ID?"

Ken bounds over and grabs the phone. Flipping it open, the screen shows a ringing phone cartoon and a name.

"Um, someone called Hattori Heiji" Ken replies, walking towards Shinichi. Shinichi sighs and holds out his hand. Ken jumps over and places the phone in Shinichi's hand. Leaning against the counter, Shinichi answers the phone.

"Hello, Hattori."

" 'elp me Kudo! Ya parents 're bonkers. I'm amazed ya stayed as sane as ya are with 'em as 'ur parents." Hattori sounds scared, and he has reason to be, if Yukiko's 'innocent' laughter is anything to go by.

Shinichi sighs at the scene he can imagine before going stiff. Mukuro and Ken look over at him, concerned with his behaviour. Mukuro walks over and leans against Shinichi, openly eavesdropping.

"Hattori, if you're with my parents, then where are you? Did they drop by Osaka?" asks Shinichi urgently, hopefully.

"No they didn' drop by ma place. I'm at 'ur place. Since 'ur no longer Conan, I came to see if ya were at ya old home. But when I knock on da door, 'ur parents answered. Now I'm their captive!"

Shinichi didn't know whether to laugh or face-plant in answer to that statement.

"Hattori" Shinichi hisses, voice down low "You said that out loud. Do my parents know?"

"Know? Why else do ya think they're 'ere for? Kudo, get ya arse here asap." Pleads Hattori. "They're not leavin' till they see ya alive and in one large piece"

"Funny Hattori, funny. Maybe I should leave you with them for longer." Drawls Shinichi. Hattori makes a worried sound, denying any wish to stay with the Kudo parents any longer than he has to.

"Well, Hattori, it's not that easy for me to come at the moment. As you can tell I'm not in Beika." Says Shinichi, hoping to avoid the meeting.

Mukuro snatches the phone from Shinichi

"Kufufufu, Don't worry, My wounded Shinichi will come to meet you." Tells Mukuro in a smooth, deceptive voice. After a few attempts Shinichi finally reclaims possession of the phone.

"Sorry about that Hattori." Apologises Shinichi, kicking Mukuro's foot.

"Who in da hell was dat, Kudo?" asks Hattori, confusion and worry in his voice. "And wats with da, My Shinichi bit?" Who in the hell? Bad wording there Hattori

"A friend and my self-proclaimed Keeper whilst I am recovering. And don't worry about the other bit. Once I get permission, I'll come and see you. Text you the details later. Good luck, watch out for my Mum."

"I know that by now Kudo" shouts Hattori before hanging up.

Shinichi ends the call before ringing a different number. "Why now?" he asks himself and Mukuro just laughs.

"Yamamoto please use this sword. I don't want to damage the one you have now" Asks Kaito, picking up the sword he had created. Yamamoto looks confused, but still accepts the new sword and places his original sword in its sheath, resting it against the wall out of the way.

Deciding that using the Lambo-styled horn would defeat the object, he hides it on his person with a magician's trained practice and ease. Instead he takes out two more cards- some of the last few- and lays them on his palms. Using his flames he turns them into fingerless gloves with a metal plate across the knuckles. On the back was Kaito's new symbol.

Kaito drops to the floor, avoiding being crushed by a flying Tsuna. Using his flames, Tsuna rights himself, pushes off the wall and flies back over Kaito's head towards Hibari.

"Will we be alright fighting here with those two going at it?" asks Yamamoto, watching the battle of blows and flames going on in the other corner of the room.

"Yeah, of course we will. I'm guessing that Tsuna is the strongest one of us here in this room, so Hibari will only focus on him. He'll totally forget us. Tsuna on the other hand needs to deal with Hibari whilst watching out for us." Reassures Kaito. "I've never seen Hibari like this though. Is it a common occurrence?"

"Nope. We very rarely see him like this. Usually he's all calm and aloof. It was most likely us fighting alongside him in addition to the aura you were giving out. Crowding and Carnivores, two things that raise his flame." Yamamoto answered. Even he didn't know the real reason Hibari went like this. It was like a devil inside him was released. Maybe it was his upbringing?

"Well, ready when you two are" smiles Kaito, opening his arms wide and presenting himself as a target. Both boys turn serious, and come at Kaito.

Changing to a sun flame, Kaito settles into a boxer's stance and waits for them to arrive. He ducks under Yamamoto's thrust and jabs him in the stomach. Ryohei comes in from the left, jabbing constantly at Kaito. Kaito dodges what blows he can, but still gets hit by Ryohei's right cross. Taking the cuff, Kaito stands his ground, and uses the metal on the knuckles to block Yamamoto's sword strike. Yamamoto keeps the sword there, pushing down with more force. Kaito feels his knees lock and pushes back. Bringing his other arm up, he gives Yamamoto a hard punch to the upper arm, numbing the muscle there. Spinning around, he immediately punches Ryohei who has changed positions again.

Looking up, he watches as Tsuna punches Hibari in the face, leaving a red mark but no burns. Well these aren't conventional flames now are they? Hibari jumps backwards before renewing his attack. Tonfa meets glove and Tsuna's hand is pushed out of the way. Hibari strikes again, tonfa crushing Tsuna's nose. Tsuna returns his gaze to Hibari and kicks him. Tonfa meets trainer and this time it's Hibari's arm that moves. Tsuna follows with the other leg; hovering in the air means he doesn't have to worry about balance. It hits Hibari's stomach, but the prefect just grabs the foot and pulls Tsuna towards him-

A sword blade enters his vision, nearly slicing his own nose off. Kaito jumps backwards, whips a punch out to the side to make Ryohei back off, and half-lifts his arms. Changing to a Sky flame, Kaito concentrates the flame into his gloves. Just like Yamamoto's sword can do, just like Hibari's tonfas can do, the gloves light up in orange flames, looking like a meeker version of Tsuna's gloves. However his flame is only a soft flame, and is not strong enough to propel him into the air. Whilst he may have all of the Rainbow flames, they aren't as strong as those with one single flame, and no matter how much he trains, they never would be. He flexes his fingers, getting used to the feeling, before running towards Yamamoto.

Yamamoto defends himself, sword swinging from high to low, clanging into the gloves. Flexing his knuckles, the sword bounces. Yamamoto is slightly startled by that, not used to the feeling, and Kaito uses that moment of doubt to bring his leg up and kick Yamamoto. Ryohei slides in, grabbing Kaito's foot whilst it is still in the air and punches him in the chest. Kaito goes skidding backwards. Stopping his slide, he pushes off again, flamed gloves raised in a defending position. He gives a few test jabs at Ryohei, seeing how he would react, before going for it. His punches have more strength; just one to the stomach sends Ryohei flying across the room. Kaito watches the boxer fly, before he crashes into a wall. Kaito flicks his hand out to the side, knuckles deflecting Yamamoto's swing before pivoting and facing the swordsman. He brings his other hand around and grips the sword, careful of the sharpened edge. Turning up his flame and focusing it to his fingertips, the sword starts to melt. A third of the sword's length falls to the floor, beads of molten metal following. Yamamoto stares at the broken sword before Kaito back hands him across the face. Yamamoto rolls across the floor, coming dangerously close to Hibari.

Hibari ignores Yamamoto, kicking him in Kaito's direction before leaping back towards Tsuna. Tsuna, who is currently standing perpendicular to the floor against one of the walls, stops his flame and starts falling towards Hibari. Gaining momentum, he gives another blast of flames, propelling him forwards. The prefect swings upwards, but Tsuna easily catches it and draws Hibari's arm out to the side. Spinning inside Hibari's grip, he draws his elbow backwards, slamming it into Hibari's ribs. With his back against Hibari's chest, Tsuna leans forwards into a roll, Hibari forced to follow. The roll turns into a flip, Hibari's back slamming against the concrete. From his upside-down position on the wall, Hibari glares at Tsuna, whilst Tsuna just looks on, sunset eyes showing no emotion. Kaito picks up the broken off piece of sword and flicks his wrist, sending it in the direction of the pair. With Tsuna in the way, Hibari can't see it. Tsuna stays still, not moving an inch. The blade skims past Tsuna's neck, almost brushing it, and continues its path towards Hibari. It pierces cloth and pins one of the folds of the dress to the wall. Hibari is really starting to hate that dress now.

Ryohei gets up, a hand to his stomach, and walks over to Kaito.

"That was one EXTREME punch!" he congratulates. "Let's try this." Ryohei's right fist starts glowing a sunny yellow. "Maximum…"

"Whoa, whoa, I said no flames!" shouts Kaito nervously. He saw what that attack did to the building at the fake Heist.

"Canon"

The glowing fist comes towards Kaito and he finds he doesn't have time to dodge. Instead, he powers up the Sky flame, focuses as much of it as he can into his fist, and meets Ryohei, punch to punch. When they meet, Kaito cannot feel any flames in the attack. For a moment they are equal, but in one burst of power and a shout of defiance from Ryohei, Ryohei's punch wins out, sending Kaito top over tails across the floor.

"Analysis complete" mumbles Kaito dizzily.

"For Ryohei? But you didn't use the sun flame directly. You've been using Tsuna's sky flame for quite a while now." Comments Yamamoto wobbling over too.

"Heh, I've been using them simultaneously. But what you need to remember is it's not the flame but the person the Moon flames Reflect in the mirror. I'm not copying Ryohei's Sun flame, but Ryohei himself. And the best way to do that is for me to change flames. I've been using Ryohei's stances and footwork, as well as boxing punches rather than fist fighting and kicking most of the time. I'm not quite done analysing Tsuna yet. But there is a limit to my Sky flame. It's not as strong nor as pure as Tsuna's is. It gives me boosts in power, as you both felt, as well as boost of speed if I use one glove at a time. However I can't fly like he can. I definitely won't be able to copy his moves. Both forms of the Zero point Breakthrough and his X-burner are too far out of my reach. I'll be able to finish for the day once he's done with Hibari."

All three look over to the scuffle on the other side of the room. Hibari is panting; shoulders slightly slumped instead of proud and upright as usual. Apparently over half a day fighting has finally caught up with Hibari, even if there were some small breaks in between.

"Yo, Tsuna. Kaito needs you." Calls Yamamoto. Tsuna briefly looks their way before he nods and turns his attention back to the prefect. Tsuna flies in, gloves smouldering as he brings a fist back in preparation to punch. Hibari blocks the punch, but Tsuna turns it into a grab. With a twist of his hand, Tsuna removes one tonfa from Hibari's possession, and flings it over the far side of the room, careful of the others positions. Hibari kicks Tsuna before bringing the other tonfa around and against Tsuna's cheek. Tsuna's head snaps to the side. Grabbing a fistful of Hibari's hair and the opposite shoulder, he flies high into the air. Once at the ceiling, he turns and dives towards the floor, Hibari below him.

"Yamamoto door!" Tsuna orders as he falls. Yamamoto runs towards the elevator door as fast as he can, pressing the call button.

Tsuna and Hibari slam into the floor in a crash of tiles and a boom of smoke. The door pings before opening. Tsuna picks a dazed Hibari up and chucks him into the elevator. Kaito throws in his other tonfa for good measure too. The doors close and the others breathe a sigh of relief.

"He'll be fine now." Remarks Tsuna. "Sometimes his self-control wears out. I think life in Nanimori is becoming too tame for him. With his experience of the Varia and of the future, he knows that there are strong opponents out there. The thugs and delinquents he meets when patrolling aren't providing a challenge, nor are fun to defeat for him anymore."

The elevator pings again, and the others stiffen and surround the door, hoping it's not Hibari back for more.

The door opens and Gokudera finds one flame lit fist next to his eye, one broken sword on his neck, one Card Gun pointed at him, and one bandaged fist next to his other eye. Seeing that it's only Gokudera, they collectively breathe a sigh of relief before dropping their stances.

"Juudaime! Are you alright? I just saw Hibari totter out of here, in a dress. Did you guys fight? Are you alright Juudaime? Any major injuries?" Says Gokudera, rushing his sentences as usual.

"Haha, Gokudera, you repeated yourself there" laughs Yamamoto.

"Gokudera, I'm fine, just scratches and bruises." Admits Tsuna, a smile on his face as his right hand man circles him, touching and checking for injuries.

"I put him in that dress" proudly admits the Magician, a broad smile on his tired face. Tsuna and Gokudera's jaws drop.

"I found it weird that he was in a dress, but I never connected it to being you who put it on him. How on earth did you manage that?" gasps Tsuna.

The Magician preens under the praise. "Well, me and KID are used to putting Policemen in dresses. It is harder on a moving target, but I've had years of experience with his Taskforce. Plus…" he adds sheepishly "I was angry at being tricked with that illusion"

Kaito, KID and the Magician all want to put that behind them and pretend it never happened. So instead, KID takes the stage. In a puff of smoke he moves, changing into his native costume on the way. Once the smoke clears, the coughing audience find KID standing there arms outstretched, floating in the middle of the air.

"No flames here" he sings, wiggling his fingers. "Ladies and Gentlemen, help me in welcoming my esteemed Boss to the stage." A recording of an audience clapping plays. The others are too stunned to react. KID pouts "Aww that was a bad reaction guys. You've got to put feeling into it. Like this."

Kid claps twice and the lights in the room go off. Another clap, and KID's gloves spring into white flames, ghost-lighting his face from underneath. The monocle reflects the light, as does the rim of his top hat. The flame also highlights the manic grin KID is wearing. KID claps again, and in an instant, KID has moved to be in Tsuna's face, only inches away from his nose. The others jump back and gasp, not seeing KID move from his previous spot

Tsuna merely blinks slowly.

"Ahh~. You're no fun like this. Normal Tsuna would have gone Heeii" comments KID, a perfect replica of Tsuna's scream leaving his mouth. KID skips backwards, flamed hands behind him, lowering the level of light in the room. "So, Tsuna, do you fancy a fireworks show?"

The others watch in awe as one purple flame shoots into the air. A moment later, at the opposite end of the room, a lighting green flame bounds into the air. All around the room, the other flames rocket into the air, truly creating a mini-firework show. The penultimate one is Kaito's own white flame. The final one, rising and staying in the centre of the room is Tsuna's orange Sky flame. Flashing again, it lights up Kaito's white suit, creating a sunset.

Oohs and Ahhs come from all watchers, and there is even a note of wonder in Tsuna's orange eyes. "My Boss still hasn't arrived on stage~!" sings KID again, extending one hand towards Tsuna in a rather Host Club manor. Shaking his head, Tsuna relights his gloves and flies up to where KID is standing. KID takes a hold of his cape and draws it out to the side, bowing in half to Tsuna.

Looking up, he jumps, punches Tsuna in the shoulder, before flipping down to the floor. Tsuna follows KID to the floor, returning a punch of his own.

Storm, Rain and Sun watch in fascination as Moon and Sky dance. Due to having the lights off, all they can really see are two sets of orange flames, coming together, running apart, joining, breaking, spiralling and flashing. If it weren't for the differences in their flames, it would have been hard to tell whose flame was whose. Since Tsuna had both Hard and Soft flames, it was easy to see which were his. The crystal hard flames and warm soft flames clearly defined Tsuna's movements.

However suddenly a phone goes off. In one swift movement, Tsuna grabs his phone and throws it to Gokudera before continuing his fight. Gokudera catches the phone before looking at the caller ID.

"Juudaime, There's a star on your phone, I'm assuming it's Shinichi. Do you want me to answer?" says Gokudera. There is no need to shout. The two participants are hardly making any noise at all. In fact the loudest sound is the one coming from Tsuna's flame moving through the air.

"Oh, it's Tantei-kun. Put him on speaker phone" chimes KID, reaching up and grabbing Tsuna's shoe from where he is flying in the air. He jumps and drags Tsuna to the floor using his weight before straddling his waist. Tsuna raises his hands in defense and KID grabs them. Their fingers end up intertwined as the pair grapple, vying for dominance.

Gokudera answers the phone and presses the button for speaker phone, turning the volume up as loud as it would go so the pair across the room could hear too. Finally Gokudera looks up…

Finally the phone is answered, and the first thing he hears is:

"Oy, Baka-Thief get off of Juudaime. How dare you sit on him like that! Watch where your hands are too."

Oh, God. What's Kaito done now?

"Hahaha, Ahahaha. Would you rather I sit lower down? I could always sit on his hips if you would rather."

KID taunts, voice deep, smooth and seductive. A mischievous devil-like twinkle in his eyes is hidden by the monocle. It's adorable just how red Gokudera goes. He opens his mouth and all that comes out is a load of sharp consonants, grunts and gasps.

"Or do you want to join in too?"

Even Tsuna has to laugh at what has happened to Gokudera. It seems as if the raging Storm has been silenced.

Shinichi decides he had better do something before KID takes his joke a step too far. Clearing his throat loudly, Shinichi mock-scolds

"Kaito, what on earth are you doing? Can you not even last two days without pranking someone? I had higher expectations."

KID makes a loud buzzer-like wrong sound in the back of his throat

"Enh-ehrr. A wrong deduction there Tantei-kun. And it's not just me, Kaito and the Magician have been acting up too you know."

KID whines, a huge smile on his face. Whilst KID is distracted, Tsuna plants his feet firmly on the floor, knees bent and bucks his hips, arching his back. KID loses balance, and whilst he goes to plant his hands on the floor for stability, Tsuna punches him in the gut, sending KID flying into the ceiling.

"Well I can't see you right now to tell who you are. In fact I still can't see anything. Mukuro has made sure of that." Sighs Shinichi. A hand tilts the phone.

"Kufufufu, I have kept my hands on Shinichi this whole time" smirks Mukuro, unable to stop himself from playing with Kaito. "And what lovely smooth skin he has, so soft, without a blemish anywhere."

KID makes a squawk before landing on his feet on the floor. He doesn't hear any protest from Shinichi: not an embarrassed squeak, not an indrawn breath, not a spluttering denial. If only he could see Shinichi's own smile through the phone. KID's not the only one who can toy with people.

"Anyway, Boss, I need to ask your permission for something." Says Shinichi, getting back on track.

Another crash goes on in the background. Faintly he can hear the sound of blows in the distance too. When Tsuna does finally answer, he sounds a little out of breath.

"Sure…" another crash "What is it?" he rushes that last part.

"Do I need to call back another time? You sound busy. What's going on?" Shinichi inquires. It's Yamamoto who answers since Gokudera seems to still be recovering from the image earlier.

"Yo, Shinichi. Tsuna and KID are having a practice battle at the moment. It's to help with Kaito's Moon:Mirror. Keep talking, Tsuna isn't fighting that hard so he can still talk. You should see it though Shinichi. KID put the lights out so all you can see are two flames from their gloves- KID's copied Tsuna's weapon you see. It's so beautiful."

"Oh, that does sound nice. How come KID is training? I thought we did enough of that last time." Asks Shinichi, wishing he could have seen what KID had planned.

"Well, he's fought all of us today, generally in pairs, but also three at a time too. He's been fighting Hibari most of the day actually." Reports Yamamoto.

"He's fought Hibari all day!" gasps Shinichi, Mukuro tenses slightly before laughing.

"Yep. Tsuna is the last one. He's basically creating copies of us- he copies out fighting styles. Anyway, what did you want to ask?" replies Yamamoto.

Shinichi shakes his head at what Kaito is doing. Taking in a breath, he says

"I need permission to go see a friend of mine. I was going to turn him down but Mukuro decided that we are going to meet him. He's come from quite far away to see me. I just wanted to check with you if that was alright." Explains Shinichi.

"Who are you meeting Tantei-kun?" asks KID, sending a flaming punch Tsuna's way, following it up with a kick to Tsuna's knee. Tsuna gasps.

"Hattori first, and then my parents. I knew it would happen sooner or later. It's been two weeks since Conan went back to America and they haven't seen the real me yet. My parents, Shinichi's not Conan's, will want to check and see if I'm okay. Hattori will too."

"That sounds alright. Gak… I have conditions though." Pants Tsuna.

"Analysis complete" says KID in that mechanical, almost unconscious voice. Tsuna immediately turns off his flame. He's tired, and doesn't fancy fighting KID while KID is pretending to be him. He walks over towards Gokudera, Yamamoto and Ryohei.

"That was amazing to the EXTREME!" shouts Ryohei, pounding them on the back. Both sit against the wall, catching their breath.

"KID are you alright? That didn't sound normal." Asks Shinichi concerned.

"Don't worry it's normal." Sighs KID.

"Shinichi, you will need to take some precautions. If your 'Stalkers' find out that you are actually alive, then that won't be good. I want Mukuro to go with you. He can give you a disguise whilst letting your friend see you as you are. In addition, you still can't open your eyes. You can't open them until tomorrow. Finally, I must remind you of the Omerta. You are not to tell your family and friends that you are in the Mafia. If they find out themselves, or are in a situation where they need to know, then you may tell them. Even at that point, all Family secrets must stay secret. Breaking the Omerta is punishable by the Vindiche." Outlines Tsuna

Shinichi takes this all in before saying, "I understand Boss"

"Kufufu, I will take good care of Shinichi. Well My popular Detective, let us go to Beika."

Yeah, finished. This took me a while to write actually, so sorry for the long time between updates. Just a few notes for you all to read.

Kaito – I have tried really hard not to God Model Kaito here. But due to the ability, he should be able to fight on par with them. Plus from being KID he's flexible enough to pull off fancy manoeuvres. So I'm sorry if Kaito seems all-powerful here. The Moon:Mirror move is creating a copy of each person, not their flame. But by changing flames, he can access the data he has about them. Eventually he will have a whole library of people to look through for each flame. Take each flame as a genre of books. Each genre is a category and there are lots of different books (people) that come up under each genre. Hence why no box weapons were used in the making of this session, since Kaito wants physical abilities and personality traits rather than power and weapons. He'll easily be able to impersonate people now, and bring that impersonation up anytime he needs to. Just wanted to clear that up.

Shock of Toichi- How many jaws dropped when I introduced him? Personally, I think that the story could be reasonably true, but I have no plans for resurrecting Toichi. I just wanted to mess with you. And what better illusion to use in a fight than one that tears the opponent apart emotionally. A little bit of Mukuro-ness from Chrome there.

Placement of Flan- After consulting with the reviewers who answered my question, they both wanted Flan with Mukuro. But since I am a little B26 fan, Flan can also be found in Varia scenes- they are all Vongola after all. This is my first time writing him, so I hope I did an alright job.

Hattori's accent- *gets on knees* Please oh please oh please let me drop his accent. It's so hard to write. And funnily enough, when I read his lines back to myself instead of sounding Gansta or lazily dropping syllables, my head makes him sound Scottish instead. I don't have a clue why, but it does. Hattori's accent is going out of the window. Hattori can learn how to speak proper English/Japanese.

In the next chapter, I'm going to be adding in something that has been missing. In fact I'm surprised that no one has commented on it.

Lots of thanks and cookies to all of those who have reviewed. They have been very helpful in giving me inspiration.

Once again, please leave suggestions for scenes and arcs in the suggestion box on your way out.

Phantom Hitman 1412.

First Published: 07 Feb. 12