Chapter 47: Emotions under the Microscope.
This chapter is all about Tsuna and his kidnapper and starts off the day after Shinichi visits Verde, and the day before the Kitty Killer case for the Vongola, AKA 3 days after he was kidnapped. I'll be bringing it back up to the present day in this chapter.
"So the experiment can begin"
Tsuna didn't like the gleam in the man's eyes before him. It didn't look all too sane. But what could he do about it? Sure he was no longer restrained, but he couldn't move due to whatever drug the man had given him. He knew for certain that shouting out wouldn't help. This man was a recluse, there would be no one else here to hear him scream.
He is snapped out if his slight panic attack by the clinking of glass bottles.
"How much do you know about your Flame, Vongola?" the man asks him. Tsuna was surprised by the question, not because he had asked about Flames, but that he had asked about something that wasn't biology, chemistry or physics. This man was one of the few who should know about Flames.
"Um, I don't really know a lot about them. I know how to control it, but apart from that, it's just the information we learnt in the future. What their attributes are and a little about how they can affect the physical world."
"That sounds about correct." The man nods before jumping up to sit next to him. "Sky Flames, high rarity, contain the Harmony Factor, capable through the use of a Box Weapon to petrify objects. The only Flame to have a Negative State too as far as I can tell. My guess would be due to the Harmony Factor. A technique only used by the Vongola- I suspect due to secrecy. Is my data similar to your own?"
"Y-yeah, sounds correct to me."
"But do you know how Flames are made? How they even exist? Do you know how the Rings harness them and manifest them physically? How is it that they can be used as a power source? What metals work as conductors or as insulators? How can certain weapons hold these Flames? Is it all psychological or due to what materials they are made out of? There are so many things we just don't know about these Flames. And I want to answer them all. I want to know everything there is about these Flames. And you, Vongola, are going to help me with my research."
Tsuna had thought that the man was never going to stop with his questions. But it made Tsuna realise, he didn't know the answer to any of those questions. Flames were just something he used without knowing the truth behind them. The crazed gleam in the man's eyes grew wilder, sparkling almost as if on fire. He had never seen the usually apathetic man like this before. He should have expected it though. Things like this made the man tick. Solving the unknown seemed like just a big adrenaline rush as fighting was to Hibari.
"I'm going to change the world. I'll be better than Da Vinci himself. The Ilumniare will be so impressed." But then as if a switch was pressed, the man before him suddenly got serious. "So then Vongola, let's begin before the drug starts to wear off."
"Why did you drug me anyway?" asks Tsuna, still in relative shock over the new side to the man before him.
"Like I said to remove a lot of your energy. I only need your Flames. I do not need your Flame fighting against me, so removing your body's energy means there is less for it to feed off of and it'll be too weak to do much more than tickle me." The man's face has once more lost emotion, focusing purely on the task before him.
He jumps down from the table before wandering over to the drawers and selecting a few items that he would need. His partner held the collection bottles for him. Tsuna looks at the needle in the man's hand with wary eyes. It didn't look like a normal syringe. As if reading his thoughts the man explains absentmindedly, "This is a special metal alloy created to be able to handle Flames. Something I took from my memories of the Future."
Tsuna's eyes widen when it wasn't his blood that filled the syringe like he suspected. It was pure Flame. He could feel the process, feel the withdrawal of Flames far more acutely than one would feel the loss of blood. In his already tired state, Tsuna felt even more sleepy. He hisses as the larger than normal needle is withdrawn. The man quickly deposits the syringe and covers the bleeding hole in Tsuna's arm in a practiced motion. Before the man could say any more Tsuna had fallen asleep.
A few hours later and the scientist is still working on the Flame samples when his test subject awakens. Tsuna stretches and rubs his eyes before freezing in the motion.
"I… I can move again?" he mumbles, looking at his hands in disbelief.
"Indeed, you can. I have not given you another dosage. And as long as you don't try to escape, I don't think I'll need to administer another." Tsuna slowly nods as he sits up. Escape would be easy, all he'd have to do is find his gloves and then use the added speed boost to run off. He was sure he could defend himself from his kidnapper.
He notices that there is a lot of paper all around the place, lots of them with pictures on. Leaning down towards the nearest pile of papers, he takes a closer look and is shocked by what he sees. Of course, half of it he doesn't understand; numbers, equation and words in what he swears is a different language. But the pictures, well they were universal, and as clear as day.
A 3D shape, 6 sides, one specific sized hole and a chain.
His Kidnapper had the original Box Weapon designs in front of him.
Whilst Tsuna's mouth is hanging open, the Kidnapper turns around and notices what is in Tsuna's hands. "See, like I said the other day; I've only taken you for Flame research. Since you already know about them, there'll be no time paradox. In addition to this, you already know what one should feel and act like, allowing us to know whether we have achieved the required result. Finally, we can improve on the design of the originals as we produce them."
Tsuna nods in understanding, seeing the basics hidden underneath. But there was still one question of his he hadn't had answered yet. So he looks his Kidnapper in the eye. His tiny green haired Kidnapper. The only Kidnapper to have a Caiman as a partner. The World's best Scientist and one of the creators of the Box Weapon.
The Arcobaleno of Lightning, Verde.
"But why me?"
Did Verde have some hidden agenda with him? Did he still hold a grudge against Lambo and their antics in the Arcobaleno trials so many years ago? No that wouldn't be it, Verde, or what he had seen so far, was a cold clinical emotionless man, he wouldn't let emotions rule him. It would produce bias results.
"I don't trust these memories of mine from the future, they could be fabricated for all I know. Even if it was 'me' doing these experiments. I am going to do them with my own hands- scientists do it all the time to each other when a brand new thesis is produced. Why else would we show our methodology to anyone else? I've chosen you for the interesting effect Sky Flames have on Boxes: they could open any Box. I want to know why. My preliminary hypothesis is that it's due to the 'harmony' factor these Flames possess. Or maybe, Sky Flames contain a little of each Flame in it- producing the 'harmony'. I don't know the reason, and I don't like that feeling, so I'm going to correct it, understand?"
Tsuna nods vigorously, not liking the mean gleam in Verde's eyes. He would make sure not to disrupt these experiments or else face the wrath of a scientist. If it was anything like the wrath of a mechanic, then it was unusual and downright scary (yet another reason to keep Spanner and Shoichi well fed and rested). "Well, if you were thinking about that, then why not take KID? His flame actually separates into the others, and he has a Sky Flame, surely that would be better for your experiments?" That was not a plea of 'take him not me', Tsuna wasn't even thinking that. He was generally curious from a scientific standpoint. He suspected that Verde didn't take half measures and second bests.
Verde turns sceptical eyes on the Mafia Heir, even raising an eyebrow. It looked like Verde couldn't believe he'd just asked that question. "Why?" Verde scoffs, a well-used sound towards lesser beings. "Because it was easier to kidnap the Heir to the most powerful Family in the mafia than it was to kidnap one single thief." Tsuna pales at this, not believing it. "Or hadn't you noticed the way that Reborn" Verde says the name with malice "never lets the pair out of his sight recently? KID and Kudo are Reborn's new pets. My research at the time stated that he kept a closer eye on them than he ever did with you."
Verde notices some sort of emotion pass across the Vongola's face. Emotions are not his thing, from a scientific nor personal point of view. His lack of experience meant that he couldn't exactly pinpoint the term for such a look in the dark brown eyes of the teen before him, but if he had to guess, it was a look of sadness, of betrayal and a look of reluctant understanding. Amazingly enough, Verde felt a response inside of himself, a tightening of the chest, a reaction he'd never had towards anyone before. Nothing shows on his face- he'd lock the emotion away behind the logic until he was alone and could analyse the situation and the cause of this tightening. Verde felt almost regretful for saying what he just had, and he never regretted telling people the truth, no matter if the other wanted to hear it or not. His life revolved around the truth after all.
Tsuna looks down and away at that. It was true, Reborn did seem to like them better. So did Leon. He spent a lot of time teaching them and was found to be in their presence a lot. He took part in some of KID's pranks when it suited him and he gave them this look… this smile that he had seen the Hitman Baby give Yamamoto before now. Tsuna didn't know whether he was jealous of the three or not. Was it just basic training he was doing with them, since they were newer to all of this than the rest were, or was there some personal connection… a personal connection, with Reborn? Pft, not possible. Surely Reborn was just training them to be good enough to look after him. That was it… that was all.
Keiman trots over and closes his jaws gently around his Partner's tiny leg, jolting him out of his thoughts. Seriously, if he wasn't here then this human wouldn't get anything done; he'd be constantly staring 'into space'. Verde looks down at his partner and blinks before taking the syringe from his tail. "Thank you." Verde mumbles before turning back to business. "Whilst I have you here, I'm going to do research on the Flame in general as well as working on the Box Weapons. From my observations you have a large amount of pure Flames, which would be perfect for my experiments."
Tsuna notices that this syringe looks different to the last one- it looks more conventional. "Am I going to get an opinion in here anywhere? This is my body after all. I'd at least like the- Ouch!" Seems like Tsuna wasn't getting a choice in this since Verde pricks him with the needle half way through. He goes to give Verde a glare for not listening to him, but he backs down at the scary apathetic look Verde is giving him. Who knew that having practically no emotions on ones face was that scary?
"I don't think you realise your position here Vongola." He says, voice far too deep for a baby. "You are here to sit, to answer questions, to give your opinion when I ask for it, and let me do what I wish. That's how this goes since I'm the scientific genius and you're the experimental subject. Does your tiny brain get that?" It's all Tsuna can do to nod. He can't even grab his Flames enough to calm himself back down. "Your position as Heir of Vongola has no merit here, being Reborn's student is a negative factor. In fact you're lucky that I even remember such an insignificant detail as your name, most subjects get a code number." Verde presses in the plunger before removing the needle and stepping backwards.
Keiman walks over to a tripod set nearby and uses the tip of his tail to press the record button- all of Verde's work was recorded for future reference, and saved under the most advanced encryption and security he could create. He then goes and stands next to his partner, wrapping his tail around the man before lying on the floor. Verde leans back on the caiman, getting comfortable to observe the experiment.
Tsuna looks over and smiles, ignoring the way his body was heating up. So Verde was human after all, which was a relief for Tsuna. "See, you do lov-gak" His hands fly to his chest as his muscles contract, almost bringing him to the floor. Verde doesn't move, nor does his expression change.
"Reaction time, 2.759 seconds" he says before typing it down on some sort of tablet.
"Ver-Verde… What did, did you do?" Tsuna stutters through gritted teeth. It felt like there were pins and needles everywhere. He grabs onto the table in an effort to stabilise himself. Verde notes this down. His head was pounding and it felt like he could feel every beat of his heart, every movement of blood through his system. No, it wasn't his blood, it was his Flame, coursing erratically around his body. It hurt. Tsuna jumps up from the low table and starts to pace, needing to focus on something else, anything else, just not this pain. He wipes the sweat off of his forehead, only to keep his hand there and scratch at it instead. He rubs the other hand against his jeans.
"After preliminary testing, I found a few substances that had adverse effects on Flames. I'm conducting tests on a second subject, ie you, to see if the same results occur." Tsuna's hyper intuition, working higher than normal as a reflex to the pain, noted how Verde rubbed his own arm as he said 'preliminary testing'. He reckoned that Verde had used his own body as a test subject first. Who knows what damage he'd done to himself over the years? "Now I need you to answer a few questions for me. Try to be as coherent as possible, I don't have a scream translator, although maybe I should invent one…"
Tsuna watches as Verde looks into the distance. He recognises that look from his own mechanics: their idea look. Oh no, he was in pain here, Verde was not allowed to go into science Lala land! "What questions?" he growls, grabbing the pillow he was lying on earlier and squeezing it in between his hands. He is glad when Verde returns to this world and looks down at his tablet to find the questions he had wanted answered.
"We'll start with the physical manifestations. Where does it hurt the most?" Verde looks up, uses one small finger to push his glasses back up his nose, looking at Tsuna seriously the entire time. Of all the questions he could ask, he asks that?
"My hands, and my forehead" Tsuna replies, slamming his face into the pillow and rubbing it against his forehead. It was so itchy!
Verde 'hmms', considering the fact before typing it down. "The last subject had it just in the hands. However, your Flame projects itself from the forehead too, a sign of the so called 'Hyper Dying Will' limited to a few. This drug obviously goes for the Flame Outlets, which are in general the hands since Flames are channelled through the hands into a weapon."
"Is the pain constant, fluctuating or growing?"
"Growing."
"Can you still control your Flame?"
"Of course!"
Whatever drug Verde had given him earlier to extract his Flame with must have worn off since he could grasp it now. Control was fragile and unreliable, the soft Flame running away from him whilst the Hard Flame asked for release. He didn't have his gloves on, he had no hope of releasing the pressure. He hisses against the pain, not wanting to cry out in front of Verde.
The Scientist asks a few more questions before it's clear that Tsuna isn't really listening to him anymore. He knew from experience how much this particular drug hurt. Tsuna's intuition was right, he had experimented on himself to find out answers to questions he had. The experiments had to be restricted since this stupid body was a huge limitation. However the smaller body was balanced by a smaller amount of Flames, so the ratio was the same as Tsuna's and would produce similar results.
"Verde please leave and take your Partner with you. I don't want to accidentally hurt either of you." Verde was shocked by this plea. On the odd occasion he had experimented on someone other than himself, they always went after him, to repay the pain they were feeling. Always. He either zapped them or Keiman took care of them. But this boy, this person who's friends he had harmed, who he had kidnapped, snapped at and used like a doll was worried… about him? Unbelievable.
He hears a growl before receiving a push in the back. Verde looks behind himself to see Keiman butting him, pushing him towards the exit like Vongola wanted. When he doesn't react- still emotionally stunned- Keiman growls once more before doing something he rarely does. He grabs Verde by the middle of his lab coat in his teeth and carries the baby out of the room. Tsuna giggles through the pain at this, watching the high-and-mighty Verde carried like a kitten.
As the door closes behind the odd pair, Tsuna slumps to the floor before punching it in a motion of pain relief. "Grrrah!" he snarls whilst kicking out. He clips a stool and it skids on its wheels before banging into a counter, rattling the glasses stored in the drawers underneath. Gasping, Tsuna scrambles as best as he can over, checking for any damage he's done. Luckily enough nothing is broken. He backs away from the counter, not wanting to break anything else nor ruin any experiments the World's Best Scientist is conducting. He backs away until he hits the table in the centre of the room before letting out a small whimper.
The door slams open before a small flash of white is in front of him. "You need to be more careful. Here get back on the table and I'll restrain you. I don't want you to hurt anything in my lab. Nor do I want you hurting yourself." Tsuna looks at Verde with wide eyes at hearing that. "Y-you're my experiment and it'd be annoying to have to find another one to suit my needs." Verde replies, trying to sound lofty. Tsuna's eyes soften and he would smile if he wasn't already grimacing from the pain. He complies with the wishes of his captor, laying back down on the table he woke up on and allowing the tiny baby to restrain his arms and legs. He has enough room to move around, to tense against the bonds, his head free to move from side to side in an attempt to ignore the pain.
"Thanks Verde" Tsuna manages to say before locking his jaw against a bigger wave of pain. Verde nods before jumping down from the table and returning to the main room of the lab where his master computer was set up. It was from here that he was watching the footage from the camera Keiman had set recording.
Tsuna felt as if there was a pinball of pain bouncing around his body, growing every time it bounced. He hoped that this would end soon, he wanted it to stop. It couldn't get any worse than this… right?
Wrong.
Tsuna screams as the pain keeps on amplifying. Tears run down his cheeks. He's had enough, it needed to stop!
"Gokudera!"
That's what Gokudera had promised him- scream and I'll be there… right? Well he'd screamed, so where was the ever so faithful right hand man to protect him, to tell him that everything would be alright, to say that he was Juudaime and that Juudaime could accomplish anything?
Another wave of pain and he clenches his fists. "Yamamoto!"
He'd help right, laugh that meaningless laugh and say everything was going to be fine, that he'd get through this. Yamamoto would be there with that comforting smile, wiping his worries away. Or maybe there with that sharp serious look, telling him that it would be over soon and he'd never need to deal with it again.
"Ryohei!"
Why didn't Ryohei burst through that door and be so loud and extreme that Tsuna focused on him and not the pain? Why wasn't his big brother here with healing hands and warmth?
"Mukuro, Chrome!"
Yes, Mukuro would come in and laugh at him, be so obnoxious that Tsuna would want to punch him, and then Chrome would come in, lay her hand on his arm and illusion away the pain. They'd blanket him into sleep, create a barrier between him and the pain, make it all go away.
"Hibari"
That's what he needed, for the Rule Enforcer to come in, tell him he was being a noisy herbivore and knock him unconscious.
"L-lambo!"
The cow would most likely get himself hurt trying to help these days and then summon his older self who would be calm and say something shocking and worth listening to before realising that his big brother was in pain and panicking and whining himself. He'd be a distraction at least, if not a source of strength and comfort.
Tsuna set himself the task of thinking of all the people he knew and how they could help, tricking his brain into thinking about that rather than about the pain. The mechanics would come up with some sort of robot to help, Haru would be in a flustered panic at first before calming down and helping, Kyoko would quietly sit next to him and stroke his hair, saying everything would be alright. Fuuta would rank the best pain relief technique, I-pin would teach him a breathing exercise from Fon and Bianchi would try to kill him with her poison… which wasn't helpful at all, distracting but not helpful.
He'd run his voice horse, and the pain was still building. "Kai-to"
The magician would annoy him, amaze him, trick him and generally distract him until he pointed out that the pain was gone.
"Shin-ichi"
The detective would… most likely tell him about a case involving a poison, or retell the story of how he got shrunk. No he'd keep it less personal, explaining the many ways to use poison to kill someone, how it was hidden, the weird ways it was administered, and Tsuna would get more and more worried about dying before Shinichi reminded him that he didn't let anyone die in front of him if he could help it. He'd remind Tsuna that no one had died when Tsuna was around the detective. That Tsuna counteracted the bad luck and he would live.
Verde can hardly hear the boy over the microphone anymore, having worn his voice out entirely. But, and it may have been his mind playing tricks on him, he thinks he hears one last name, the last of a voice on the exhalation of a breath, barely audible, not really spoken at all…
"Reborn"
Finally Vongola passes out. "Containment time: 2 hours and 33 minutes. That's an hour longer than I lasted, impressive"
When Tsuna wakes up once more it's to a headache and a tired feeling.
"Ah, awake finally. Dormant Time: 10 hours 47 minutes. That's to be expected since subject was not at full Flame capacity at the start of the test. Scans now show normal Flame levels." Verde lowers the recording device from his mouth.
"Good Morning Verde" says Tsunayoshi since it felt like it was morning.
As Verde turns around he's the recipient of the brightest and kindest smile he has ever seen. A smile like that from a boy he'd kidnapped and tortured without warning. Why? It shouldn't be possible, even he knew human nature didn't work like that. It was survival instinct, attack back or run, not be nice and smile.
"Hmm? Well it's just polite to say good morning to a friend isn't it?" the subject asks tilting his head. Verde didn't realise he'd spoken the question aloud.
"I-I need to take some vital signs before we continue to make sure that we've returned to base stats. It would affect the results otherwise." Verde intentionally changes the subject to one he is more comfortable with, to one he actually understands. He ignored the word 'friend', it had never been used correctly on him. Any who called him friend always wanted something off of him, like his research or the capabilities of his brain, they never wanted him.
He turns around and opens a drawer behind himself, taking out the tools he would need. He jumps onto the table top next to Vongola and takes his wrist. Tsuna watches Verde out of the corner of his eye, still wary for anything the scientist may try on him. He didn't want to get harmed more than necessary.
"Gao~"
"Oh My God! Natsu! Come out, are you alright?" Tsuna quickly touches Natsu's ring, releasing the baby lion cub. He had forgotten about the animal during the last experiment; if it affected Flames then it would have affected Natsu.
"Vongola." Comes the snap. "How can I take your pulse if you're waving around like that?" Verde gives him a telling off look, but it's not as bad as the ones before. Tsuna returns his wrist to the scientist's grip and mumbles an apology before returning his attention to the lion on his lap.
Tsuna checks Natsu over as best as he can with one hand and is relieved to find no damage on his Partner. Natsu purrs once again before rubbing his cheek against the nearest part of Tsuna. Giving Natsu a one handed hug, Tsuna then starts to stroke Natsu, whether to calm himself down or the cat he doesn't know. They both stop when tiny hands and an even tinier cute tape measure enter their vision. Both turn to stare at the scientist wondering what he's doing now. "10.96"
"10.96?" asks Tsuna.
"Hmm, oh that's the length of the Flame Mane of this Sky Lion. It should be a reflection of you, therefore this length is the length that represents a normal level of Flames within yourself. Fluctuations represent you using your Flames." Verde makes a note of this down somewhere before continuing with taking Vongola's vital signs. He keeps an eye on the lion though. As soon as it had appeared Keiman had crawled over and wrapped around the table leg, ready to defend his master if needed. Past experience always showed retaliation and he wouldn't accept anyone going after his master.
The lion though remained calm, keeping an eye on the goings on, but in general didn't seem worried. And since Vongola Box Animals were a reflection of the owner…
"You're not scared by me?" asks Verde, bringing out the most scariest looking piece of equipment he had. Vongola screams that high pitched squeal before falling backwards off of the operating table and scuttling away. Natsu had jumped once but then settled back down. Interesting.
After regaining his breath Tsuna crawls back to the table, resting crossed arms on it and his chin on his arms- quite a comfortable position considering how low to the floor everything was for Verde's convenience. "Scared of you… maybe, but then again, I'm scared of Reborn and a few other people, but that doesn't mean that I don't trust them." Tsuna watches Verde take this in. When he doesn't get any sort of reply, he continues. "I trust you Verde. Once I figured you out and understood you, it's pretty easy to get along with you. Just like with Hibari or with Mukuro, I just have to take your actions with a pinch of salt, and know that you don't act by normal conventions." Tsuna chuckles to himself "But then again who around me does act by normal conventions? It's like I said the first time we spoke recently: I know that I might get hurt here by you, but none of it's going to be with any malice, only scientific curiosity. I'm sure that there is a reason for you to have given me that drug last night. So when you get the results you need, you'll make a counter agent or tell me how to fight back, or to avoid certain plants or something. Either way, the result will be something positive or else you wouldn't have done it, nor would you have tried the poison yourself." Verde slowly nods but still says nothing. Putting a pout on his face Tsuna continues "And I don't like you doing that either, especially with no one else here to watch over you. It's commendable that you try the agents on yourself first before trying it on anyone else, but what if you die from it? How can you help the world then, how can you be an Arcobaleno? Either get a human assistant or come to me for it."
Now that was something Verde could understand. "Haha, you're offering to be a permanent test subject to the Mad Scientist? You're either brave or foolish Vongola."
Tsuna shrugs, "I've been told that before and I suspect the answer is the both of them. So do we have a deal?"
Verde crosses his arms and his eyes harden. "What do you want in return?" Tsuna felt saddened that this was the scientist's first response. All of the mental barriers had been put back up.
"Nothing. Am I not allowed to worry for another human being? Am I not allowed to make a choice about my own body? Have I given you any signs that I have an ulterior motive?" His eyes flash orange in anger and conviction. Not anger at Verde though, but at how others had treated someone as special as him.
Verde sits down in front of him, resting his chin on a raised arm and gives Tsuna a considering look. "So is this the Famous Vongola Intuition in action?"
Tsuna blinks, not expecting that to be said next. "Umm, no. When I first arrived I was using it, but I haven't been told anything by it recently except that you can be trusted. That just then was me. Remember I'm not the 14 year old you used to know. I've grown up, I've become more of a Sky. But you didn't give me an answer. Are you going to get an assistant or will you test drugs on someone other than yourself?"
Keiman laughs a crocodile-ish laugh when he recognises the 'light-bulb moment' look on the Vongola's face. He recognised it since Verde got it a lot. Of course with Verde it was quite literal too, since Verde's control over electricity caused the light-bulbs to glow brighter, sometimes even overloading them and causing it to explode.
"Or I could give you both. Come back with me Verde! You can work with Spanner and Shoichi, and I'm sure Gokudera would help out too. You'd have as many assistants as you like then, and none of them would steal your research." His intuition flares out in the first time for a while, just as Verde's expression changes and hardens once again. Tsuna stands up and lies stomach down on the table, propped up by his elbows, as he grabs Verde's little hands. "No, Verde don't think that!" he admonishes. Verde looks shocked for a second since he hadn't said anything. "I am not using you! I never would. It was just an offer, I don't want to force you to do anything you don't want to. I just thought that you wouldn't want your research to go to waste. We could help you in anything you endeavour to do, we have a great mix of Flames. Of course that's only if they offer to help since I wouldn't force them either."
"Vongola, I am not going to work-" starts Verde
"Would you stop calling me that?" Insists Tsuna, shaking Verde's hands. "I'm not even officially Boss yet or anything. Plus I'm not here as Vongola Decimo! I'm here as Sawada Tsunayoshi. You would never be involved with Vongola at all unless you wanted to. I have Spanner and Shoichi for that. Plus you wouldn't be working for me, if anything I'd be working for you" Tsuna smiles and Verde can't believe it. Who would smile at offering to be experimented on? Maybe he should do a check for insanity since there was no way the boy in front of him was sane.
"I'll think about it" Verde mumbles. He really hated these Sky Users, Luce had this effect on him too. Oh! That's right, that's where he's felt like this before, from the few times he had met that woman.
Damn Sky Users to hell and back.
"Heeii!"
No, damn ungodly high pitched Sky Users to hell and back.
"Verde! It's 5 in the morning! Have you been to sleep at all?" Verde shakes his head since he'd been too busy analysing Flames and the results of the experiment to bother with something as unproductive as sleep. Suddenly he's picked up and held in warm arms before he can even protest or struggle back. "Keiman, where's Verde's bedroom? He's going to keel over if he doesn't get some sleep." He did not need sleep! Verde glares at the caiman, warning against giving out that information, but the caiman ignores him and leads Von- Tsunayoshi out of the room.
When they finally get there, Tsuna lets out another squeal. "This is your bedroom? Where's the bed?" All Tsuna could see were piles of books, beakers of liquids (thankfully no floating body parts) and a model skeleton currently being used as a tie rack. Placing the baby scientist on his shoulder, Tsuna sets about clearing the books off of the bed. "There, that's better." Once the bed is visible he sets Verde down, gently removes the glasses and pulls the covers up.
"I'm a grown man Tsunayoshi, I don't need to be mothered." Complains Verde.
Yet he receives another smile, this one quirky. "Sorry, force of habit I'm afraid. I'm not going to be the Godfather of the Mafia, but I am the Mother of Vongola. I'm used to having to make sure everyone is alright, is alive and uninjured, goes to bed, make sure they eat and lots of other things. I certainly feel more like a Mother than a Boss, but I suppose I prefer it that way. But you need your sleep or else your brain won't work right?"
Verde sighs. "I am not going to correct you about that since I expect you won't understand nor remember it. Start sequence 002, time set 3 hours." Before Tsuna can tell Verde he doesn't have a clue what he's on about, the lights dim and turn off. The bottles of liquid around the room start to glow softly in some sort of rhythmic patterns.
"Wow, it's so pretty" admires Tsuna. Natsu gaos in agreement before sniffing one of the bottles.
"It's not pretty but functional" whispers Verde as he rolls over. "The pattern of lights hits the sensors in the eye in such a way that it induces sleep." Hearing Tsuna's confused noise, he sighs. "That was the simple explanation. You wanted me to sleep right, so stop distracting me" Tsuna jumps up and bows before running out of the room. As he closes the door he takes another peek inside and notices that Keiman has curled up around the scientist and is sleeping too.
"HHEEIIII!"
Hearing the scream he runs down the corridor.
"Ow! Owowow"
Around the corner, and there's a door in front of them.
"Gah! Help meeee"
What could be causing that scream?
They run through the door to almost fall over in shock at the sight. Tsuna is pinned under a crocodile, who has Tsuna's leg in its jaw, with Natsu jumping on his head.
What?
They blink, but sadly the scene is still the same as last time they looked.
"I told you, you have to stay in this room. If you aren't going to listen to me then I'll tie you back down to the bed again."
"What? But it's really cold and hard. You can't expect me to call it a bed!"
"There is nowhere else unless you were to sleep in mine"
"V-v-Verde!"
"Oh for Science's Sake, stop succumbing to your hormones Tsunayoshi. Plus not a lot can happen in this body."
"*sigh* Of course, science Tsuna, think science. He wouldn't have been thinking about that, just the practical logistics."
Did they want to know what was going on here?
"Hey, Natsu. Gak, stop, uh, jumping, ouch, on my, ow, head!"
"Ga-a-a-o~"
"Smug cat, see if I feed you later. Oh that's right, I was making dinner. Let me up!"
"I told you, you can't leave this room" "Grr." "Gao!"
"Stop ganging up on me!"
"The scans show that there were intruders, so you're staying here where I can keep an eye on you. It would be detrimental to the experiments if you were hurt. Plus you still can't move your arm can you?"
"No… but it's not my fault that you isolated the Flames there!"
"We didn't see any intruders on our way here"
4 pairs of eyes turn to look at the doorway at once, scaring the pair there slightly.
"Shinichi? Kaito?" gapes Tsuna, not expecting them to have arrived here. Verde gets off of his chair to look at the pair.
"Ahh, so they were the intruders. You got in the same way as last time I presume since none of the alarms on the doors went off." Hypothesises Verde, tapping on a computer near the door. Natsu and Keiman go back to jumping on Tsuna, causing a squeak from the boy.
"Yes, Jager dropped us off, I- ouch!" Shinichi looks down at the prick to find a huge needle in his arm and Verde on the end of it. Verde had jumped onto the computer table to be able to reach.
"Verde," Tsuna sighs in exasperation "What did I say about asking before stabbing someone with a needle?"
"Hn, you make it sound like I do it for fun and with no precision. I'll let you know it's a highly thought about procedure with a lot of care taken to secure the right placement for optimum Flame retrieval." Defends Verde.
"Uhuh" Tsuna agrees, still sounding unbelieving and suspicious.
Kaito and Shinichi were highly confused about the atmosphere in the room. It didn't seem right. Both had met Verde and heard stories about him, and this atmosphere didn't seem right.
Verde removes the needle. "I am going to take some of your Flame with this needle, understand?"
Tsuna face-plants the floor (with help from Natsu jumping on him once more) "Before Verde, before you stab them"
Verde picks up another needle before jumping over to Kaito and lifting up the bottom of his trousers. "I'm going to extract some Flames" Without waiting for an answer, he inserts the needle. Tsuna sighs loudly once again and returns to looking at the floor.
"Note to self Tsuna: Verde will need to ask for permission before using test subjects, permission should be submitted in writing and approved before he's allowed near the needles. End note." Magician and Detective hope their Boss hasn't gone mad, talking to himself like that. "Remember that Natsu, okay" Natsu nods and jumps on him again.
"What was the injection for Doc?" asks Shinichi.
"Doc? He's your doctor?" asks Kaito. Shinichi nods before explaining what he meant.
"My sensors need examples of your Flame type to recognise you next time you enter. Humans may be able to hide by optical illusions, reflections and camouflage but they cannot hide their Flame signature. Not even illusionists can. It's a far better security system than any CCTV camera." Tsuna nods at this and makes a note to ask Verde if they can use that at home for their private quarters.
"So why is Tsuna being held hostage on the floor?" asks Kaito, hiding a smile at the picture.
Tsuna pouts and would cross his arms if he wasn't lying on top of them. "We're in the middle of an experiment so Verde wants to keep an eye on me before I… zzz…zzz" They jump as Tsuna's head hits the floor with a bang and he starts snoring. Natsu too has fallen asleep and rolls off of Tsuna and onto the floor. Keiman crawls off of Tsuna now that he's asleep and noses Natsu closer to Tsuna. He then grabs the cover from the operating table, aka Tsuna's bed, and drags it over the pair. It would be bad for the experiments if he caught a cold after all.
Verde walks over from where he was inputting the Moon and Star Flame data into the security program to check on Tsuna. He lifts Tsuna's head up, checks for bruising and possible concussion before placing his head back down on the floor. "That's why I had him on the floor. If he had been standing, or making a meal then more damage would have been done. Affection time: 2 hours 41 minutes and 02 seconds. Twice as long as it takes on an untrained person." Verde ignores the guests in favour of typing the data down and analysing what it means.
"Did Boss say you were doing an experiment on him?" asks Shinichi, walking over to where Tsuna is sleeping.
"Hmm? Oh yes. We're trying out the most common and popular drugs on the black market to see how Trained Flames Users are affected differently by them. In general, the Flame slows the process down, meaning that there's a longer time to find and receive the cure for it or an anti-drug. If there's not one available then at least the extended gestation period allows him to get to a safe place before being affected. However Flames only work on internal drugs like poisons, or tranquilisers. External irritants like tear gas, or itching powder are still just as effective." Explanation over, he returns to his work.
Kaito clicks and places a pillow under Tsuna's head. "You carry a pillow on you?" asks Shinichi. Was there anything Kaito didn't carry on him?
"Yeah, for soft landings" Kaito smiles, and leaves Shinichi guessing whether it's true or not.
"But this explains it" says Shinichi, checking Tsuna over for signs of damage. There was a redness on his arms from scratching- the itching powder if what Verde had just said was true- as well as marks from multiple injections, all spread on different veins to avoid collapsing them. "Now we know why Boss wasn't getting any missions, he wasn't at the Base to receive any."
"Ahh, that would explain the rubbish teams too. Tsuna wasn't there so someone else is doing it. Must be Gokudera since he's the Right Hand Man." Guesses Kaito. "Good thing they were changed."
"Verde, was Boss here last time I came here?" Shinichi asks from curiosity.
"Unconscious at the time but yes he was. I had under-compensated for the tranquiliser's effectiveness since I had designed it specifically for Flame Users, and he slept for quite a while after coming here." Shinichi nods, Verde's lab had more than one room after all so it wasn't strange that Shinichi had missed him.
"Oh that's right. I came back here to collect my watch, I left it here when I changed last." Remember Shinichi.
"Down the corridor, turn left, second door on the right." Verde mumbles, only half listening- he was working!
"Hmm, that smells good" It was a rather nice smell to wake up to.
"Hey Doc, Boss is awake. Dormant time, 23 minutes and 18 seconds." States Shinichi, looking down at the bleary eyed Tsuna. Verde nods, writes the time down and goes back to the computer. "Kai's cooking dinner since he's a far better cook than I am as long as fish isn't involved."
Tsuna nods as he gets up, stretching to remove the kinks from his back. He wasn't sure which was worse, sleeping on that metal table or the floor without a futon. They wander into the kitchen where Kaito's just finishing up.
"Mini-Prof is Italian right, so I made some Italian stuff for him. I don't know whether he likes Japanese cuisine, judging by the kitchen he doesn't." Kaito hands a plate to Shinichi and two to Tsuna. Nodding in thanks, Tsuna turns around and walks back down the corridors and into what Tsuna likes to call His lab- looking at the equipment it seemed like nothing else was going on here.
"Verde, it's time for Dinner" sings Tsuna, walking over to the miniature scientist who was still tying as fast as humanly possible on the keyboard. Verde ignores him. Tsuna pouts. "Verde, stop working and eat something." Still no response. "Verde feed yourself or I'll feed you."
Shinichi resists a giggle. "I wouldn't laugh if I were you Shin-chan. How many times have I fed you whilst you were working?" Shinichi almost chokes before blushing and turning away.
"I was busy." He defends. When he got into a case he really got into it and kind of left the world behind. It wasn't his fault that he forgot to eat.
"So is Verde" remarks Kaito. They watch as the caiman walks up to Tsuna and buts his leg. Tsuna looks down and watches as Keiman opens his mouth wide.
"Hmm, you want it?" The plate is snatched out of his hand and placed on the desk where Verde was working. The crocodile looks smug and does his weird growl-laugh before lying down under the chair. Tsuna had and most likely would again, hand fed his mechanics when they were in one of their many inspired moments. Considering he didn't understand what they were typing, he didn't know if it could wait or not. For all he knew they could have been writing a program for a new level of Choice or creating a nuclear bomb defence program. But what use was there for a family if they weren't willing to sit there and feed you? And if it kept his mechanics alive, healthy and happy, Tsuna would sit there as many times as it took. (He was still going with the argument that feeding the mechanics was more important than doing paperwork. Reborn was still trying to find a counter-argument.)
Verde takes a moment to look down at the plate and comment "Hmm, real food." before taking a bite.
They decide not to ask what Verde meant by that. One look in his cupboards answered the question.
Tsuna's head was currently spinning. Both from mental overload and the latest experiment. They had finally decided to start creating the Box Weapons of their era and Tsuna didn't get any of the gabble that Verde was spouting. He wasn't smart to start with and it had taken Reborn and Gokudera a few years to get Tsuna to understand logistics and accounting to run the V.F Corporation. (Accounting went like this: "We have £X amount of money and each bomb costs £Y. How many questions can you get wrong before we run out of money?". Tsuna refused to point out that running out of money meant running out of bombs since he knew he'd end up with a hammer in the face instead. He'd hate to see how much money the bombs Reborn had used cost, there were far too many bombs to count since he was so stupid) There was no room for Science- that's what he had Gokudera for.
"I still don't know whether this is a good idea or not Verde. Do we really want the Mafia running around with Box Weapons? I mean the existence of Flames is still unknown to the majority." Ponders Tsuna. The Mafia with Box Weapons was a very scary thought. There was one colour filling the minds of the Boss, Detective and Thief.
Blood Red.
"Crime rates are sure to go up, as will injury rates. With these new powers, Mafiosi will start doing bigger crimes, knowing they can get away with them. Civilians and Police who get in their way won't be able to defend against the Box Weapons and will surely get killed" comments Shinichi with a grimace on his face.
"You saw what the future is like. I'm sure you don't want a repeat" comments Tsuna in a low and dark voice.
Indeed it wasn't a bright future to look forwards to.
"But this is such a scientific discovery! To be able to create something that was once considered as Over Technology. How could you not do it? To be the first, to create something that no one else has done before!" Verde's eyes are shining as he thinks about this latest scientific endeavour. "I am the only one capable of doing this and you know it. I can't wait to see the look on the Ilumniare's faces."
"But Verde, the people…" protests Tsuna, kneeling down to be on eye level (Verde was on a table top).
"What people do with what I create is none of my concern. I do not have the time to worry over the trustworthiness of the entire human race." Verde looks at Tsuna with a sharp glare. The glasses he wears glint in the light as he corrects them. The glint stays there. What Verde just said deeply hits Tsuna, so much so that he rocks backwards on his heels, his face emotionless. "Remember what I said to you yesterday Vongola: You are here to sit, to answer questions, to give your opinion when I ask for it, and let me do what I wish. That's how this goes since I'm the scientific genius and you're the experimental subject.'"
"Wow Verde, you got it word for word. Your memory is amazing." Tsuna says, his voice monotone and eyes hidden under his bangs. "But I will NOT," He looks up, orange eyes burning like fire through the canopy of hair "Allow innocents to get hurt if I can stop it. The Mafia is already filled with bloodshed. I will not contribute to Vongola's bloody history by allowing this to happen."
"Are you saying you're going to interrupt my work?" asks Verde slowly and ice cold.
"If you plan to give then to Koenig and sell them to the Mafia like you did last time, then yes Verde, I'm going to stop you."
The room starts to hum and crackle as the lights go dim. At one point they go out completely. When they turn back on again, Verde's no longer on the table. The trio look around themselves to find the Arcobaleno behind them. The lights go out once more and suddenly Verde is right next to Kaito. Kaito jumps back just as the lights go out once more. Flickering back on, the lights gleam off of the scalpel in Verde's hand. "I warned you Vongola, I won't let anyone get in my way. Science is the one truth, you can't stop it."
The miniature scientist leans forwards and plants his hand on the metal table. "Modo Difesa 003: Elettrico Pista"
"Electric runway? What's he on about?" asks Kaito, warily looking around himself.
"HHEEII" screams Tsuna as an electric shot runs up through the floor directly up his spine. His muscles spasm due to the shock.
"Shinichi! Watch out." shouts Kaito, pushing the detective to the side. Shinichi blinks as a knife zooms past him, cutting the button off his cuff in the process. Shinichi looks around and notices a new hole in the ceiling. Another knife comes out of the opening and Shinichi jumps backwards to avoid it. Out of the corner of his eye he notices a wall panel move and another knife prepared for launch. Firing, the knife flies horizontally across the room, seemingly missing everyone.
Kaito jumps backwards to avoid another knife. "Kaito, behind you!" Kaito looks backwards as he's jumping and sees the glint of light too late. Since he's already in mid-air, it's hard to change his path and he slams into the wire the knife Shinichi had watched left behind.
"AHH!" Kaito shouts. He wasn't expecting the wire to be live with electricity, he thought it was just a trip wire at hip height. He collapses to his knees, removing contact with the wire at the same time and catches his breath. He fumbles for his card gun, limbs twitching due to the remains of the electricity running around his nervous system.
"V-Ver-de, listen to… me" hisses Tsuna through gritted teeth. He keeps trying to get up, to have only the rubber soles of his shoes contacting with the ground, but with the electric bolts shooting up his spine and arms it's impossible. But that doesn't stop him from trying though. Verde either can't hear him or ignores him entirely.
"Kaito get your back against a wall." Advises Shinichi with black glittering eyes. He had analysed the placement of all the panels in the walls and in the ceiling that were propelling knives at them. Sat in the middle of the room like that left Kaito vulnerable from all sides and above. Kaito nods, ducking under the wire to stand next to him. "This is an Arcobaleno we are dealing with here so we can't go easy on him. I may be able to get him to stop if I dart him with my wrist watch, but I don't know whether these knives can change their aims or not. He's not going to leave himself vulnerable like that."
Kaito nods, seeing the problem as he eyes the ceiling- who knew how many weapons were hidden in the cavity of the ceiling? "Only one way to see, Tantei-kun" KID smiles, finally pulling out his card gun. KID had the best aim since Kaito never had a reason to use a gun. He takes aim and fires, cutting down that annoying live wire whilst he's at it.
Verde stares at the card flying towards him before touching a piece of metal next to him. The card changes direction and cuts into the metal instead. "Che, you can't fight me with anything metal. Those cards are made of metal to be able to cut like they do."
"Ver-de, stop it… please" pleads Tsuna, now on his hands and knees. Verde looks down at him, an eyebrow raised, the look of a king to a peasant, or a genius to someone stupid. Tsuna swears the volts coming from the floor increase.
"Panel Alpha 45 and 55" Verde says, although none of them understand it. Shinichi's Flames pick up something moving behind Kaito. In slow motion he watches the wall panel behind the thief open and another knife prepares for launch. He also catches sight of the same thing happening behind him. He warns Kaito just in time, the detective ducking down whilst Kaito cartwheels away. That proved to be a mistake when a jolt runs up his arm and he falls to the floor, still missing the knife luckily.
"Stupid, the floor is electrified too. Why else is Boss lounging around down there, baka?" shouts Shinichi as Kaito runs to the other side of the room, ducking under and jumping over the flying projectiles.
"I'll remember next time. Let's see if we can fight fire with fire… Moon:Mirror!" Kaito flicks two cards into his hands and uses his Mist Flames to transform them into the weapon the target uses most. In this case…
2 metal bars.
"What?" asks Kaito to the metal bars, looking horrified and let down.
Verde lets out a small chuckle, the first anyone had heard. "You think 2 metal bars can save you? Well you are entirely mistaken Thief. As the Green of the Rainbow, the Arcobaleno of Lightning, I have the power to control electricity. Admittedly it was an unknown perk of the job at the time I was making my decision, if I had known then maybe I would have been more willing. I can control the flow of electrons along any conductible object and surface, most commonly metals. My whole lab is surrounded in metal, either in the floors or the walls. Luckily metal tables and equipment is very hygienic and suits my purposes perfectly. My whole domain is a maze, a runway of electrical pathways. There's nowhere you can run to that is safe. I may not be strong, but I will not be defeated easily. No one steals my research and more importantly, no one stops me working on what I chose to work on."
"Damn, I can't copy something like that so it gave me the next most common thing, metal." Kaito hisses to himself, gripping the two metal bars tightly in frustration. He looks down as the metal in his hands feel weird, like they are collecting static electricity and getting hotter near his hands.
Shinichi, the world still in black and white slow motion, notices sparks run along the scalpel Verde is holding. He watches as Verde aims the knife, but he doesn't lift it into the air, he holds it out in front of him, pointing exactly towards Kaito. He lets go and the scalpel goes zooming towards Kaito and the metal bars in his hands. He jerks Kaito's hand out of the way, watching as the scalpel corrects its movements slightly, towards the nearest metal bar before it's velocity forces it onwards.
Verde smirks at the position the pair are now in, since the metal bar is now over Shinichi's body where he had grabbed the thief's hand and pulled it out of the way. He changes ammo, charges it negatively and releases it.
Shinichi is shocked to find a syringe of all things flying towards them, but then again Verde was a scientist, not a mechanic. He grabs the metal bar Kaito is holding, as well at Kaito's other wrist and places them close together in between their bodies. As the syringe gets closer it suddenly stops in mid-air, quivering slightly. Shinichi uses this moment to create a Star Flame Flaming Football and kick it into the syringe, breaking it and sending it falling to the floor. The metal needle is still in the air though. Shinichi pushes Kaito's hand, changing the placement of the 2 metal bars and the syringe flies towards Shinichi, aka the closest one.
"Wow, Shin-chan, that was awesome!" sings Kaito, still keeping an eye for any more attacks. "What did you do?"
"He said he could control the electrons on metals. What he had done was create a type of electromagnet. Whilst not usually possible like this, his control of the flow can create the desired effect within the metal. If he wasn't the Arcobaleno of Lightning, it wouldn't be humanly, nor scientifically possible" Kaito hides his awe at the scientist behind his Poker Face.
Verde holds both hands out towards them, palms facing them before smirking. "Correct Detective. See if you can figure this one out." Two strikes of lightning fly from his hands, connecting with the metal bars in each of the pair's hands.
The grunts of pain from both the Detective and the Thief are the last straw for Tsuna. He wasn't going to let them get harmed just because Verde wouldn't listen to him. His own determination towards two people he was quickly beginning to see as family allowed him to fight the pain and grab hold of his own Flames. It was then that he noticed that he wasn't being shocked anymore. Verde wasn't touching the metal table, so the volts weren't being transferred to the floor. He takes advantage of this lapse.
"Verde continue your research!" he shouts. He grabs Verde's hands and lowers them, stopping the attack on his friends. Verde stares shocked into Orange eyes, the life slowly flowing back into them now that the 'magic words' had been spoken. He could… continue? The scientist blinks at the boy, wondering what made him change his mind. He seemed determined not to let civilians get harmed, but was that overridden by his friends being harmed? That seemed rather hypocritical and false.
"Verde I'll allow you to continue making these Box Weapons since it's so important to you. However, I'll only do so if you agree to give the Box Weapons you make to me rather than to Koenig." Orange eyes filled with determination bore into the Scientist, pleading him to make the right decision.
Verde stares back at him, but his thinking, as always, is done in a flash. The answer was clear. "I'm a cold and logical man who doesn't make personal connections. Science is all I care about. I don't care if Koenig gets mad with me, that's his problem to sort out. He should have seen it coming"
It takes Tsuna a few seconds to process that sentence since he hadn't gotten a straight yes or no. But when it clicks, he smiles, and the fire in his eyes softens slightly. He wasn't all that emotional when in HDW Mode, emotions being one of the internal limiters that was affected. "I'm glad you made the right choice Verde." He stands up, that smile on his face changing slightly. "However, I want an apology for what you have done to Shinichi and Kaito. You attacked them first after all, and all they did was defend themselves, not attack you back."
Verde gives Tsunayoshi a look, stating 'really?'. But Tsuna's not letting it down. Verde can't actually remember the last time he apologised to anyone… if he ever had done so in the past. "I apologise" It was monotone, it was quick, and Verde looked away immediately afterwards, but Tsuna knew it was the best he was going to get.
"Good boy" Tsuna smiles sarcastically whilst Verde gives him another glare.
"Gao~" Natsu reminds everyone he is here, looking sheepish whilst he does it.
"Na-Natsu!" shouts Tsuna in shock since Natsu had kinda petrified Keiman's leg to the floor so he couldn't help his Master during the fight. Natsu looks down and 'gao's once more in apology. Tsuna picks him up and gives him a cuddle. "Don't worry, I'm not mad, you were just protecting us, right?" The lion cub nods and licks Tsuna's cheek. "It'll wear off later." Natsu cheers up at this reminder before jumping and sitting on Tsuna's head.
"Boy Doc, no need to hit us that hard" mumbles Shinichi, rubbing his head.
"Yeah, I bet you could power a town with that technique" remarks Kaito, pulling out a few of the more delicate tricks and props he had to make sure they weren't damaged.
"How else do you think I power this whole Laboratory? It's cheaper than paying an electric company and they can't have my address. I can't be traced." Shinichi and Kaito have to nod at this logic and Shinichi looks towards Kaito.
"Oh no, My Lightning Flames don't quite work like that. I could maybe power a coffee machine, or recharge a mobile phone, but nothing like our house." Kaito turns to Tsuna. "Lambo can call Lightning down though" He knew since he'd been hit by it before now when Lambo was mad with him one day. "You could get Spanner to convert the Lightning into power for the house. Save some money." Tsuna actually thought about this since Vongola's bills were large enough with the amount of food they had to buy (teenagers ate a whole lot!) as well as the damage repair bills- which Lambo contributed to by angering Gokudera and I-pin on purpose. So yes, he would make Lambo do that, just to get some pay back!
Now knowing that they were out of the danger zone (he hopes that Spanner and Shoichi never did that to him) Tsuna releases his Flame, eyes changing back to chocolate. He couldn't have done any more than that since he still didn't have his gloves to act as the medium. He watches as Verde hops down from the table he was on and walks out of the door. Tsuna decides to follow him and see where he was going. He hadn't seen much of the laboratory yet anyway. Kaito and Shinichi follow their Boss.
"Hey, guys, thanks for that back there" Tsuna whispers, giving the pair a thankful smile.
"No problem Tsuna" replies Kaito happily, absently holding a lollipop in the air for Shinichi to take.
"Of course we'd help, we're Guardians right?" adds in Shinichi, looking and smiling at him instead of looking at the hand that took the lollipop.
Tsuna looked at this and couldn't help but be envious as well as a little awed. These two were so in sync with each other, fitting together like two pieces of a puzzle. He kind of wished he was like that with someone. Although if he thought about it, his position didn't allow him to achieve that so easily. Kaito and Shinichi relied on each other, and to be honest, each other only. They still hadn't quite assimilated in with the others, preferring to go their own way and sneak about- which may have been Kaito's influence. He however had to balance himself between all of the others. If he thought about it that way, then they were getting there. Their teamwork could be improved but all that needed was more practice. Their relationship was one of Give and Take. Kaito did what he did best, being both his quirky bouncy self as well as the more serious KID. Kaito was the one that created the look of a pair in sync since he provided Shinichi with whatever the detective needed since he was so attentive to everyone around him. Shinichi took everything in his stride, patient and tolerable enough to take anything Kaito gave in his stride.
Well, here, without any of the others around was the perfect time to work on his relationship with his Star and Moon.
They follow Verde into a room filled with bottles and liquids. In the middle of the room was a machine along with cups and empty glass bottles. They watch as Verde potted around collecting bottles of different colours. He carefully measured the liquids out and placed them into the machine. When he pressed a switch the machine started to whir and vibrate. He placed some cups under one end of the machine and after a few moments, the liquid fell into them. He grabbed one of them and walked over to Tsuna.
"Drink this" Tsuna looked at it for a moment and then drank it. His intuition wasn't giving him any dangerous signals not to. Shinichi and Kaito can't believe he'd trust the Scientist after what he had just done. Although Tsuna had always been very forgiving and accepting of people he considered friends apparently. They knew it was going to get him killed one day, however it was a rare trait in this Underworld, and one that drew people to Tsuna. Hopefully it would draw in enough people to keep him alive. In fact, that pair hoped that Tsuna kept his kindness no matter what happened in their dark future ahead. Verde nods towards the other two drinks on the counter. "Drink them.". Shinichi and Kaito looked at it sceptically before looking up at each other. Kaito noticed the faint black sparkle in Shinichi eyes, not seen by anyone else since the detective had his back to them. With a nod to Kaito he takes a sip, allowing his Flame to analyse what it could of it.
"It's like a sports drink" he explains, looking over his shoulder at Verde.
The scientist nods. "To fix any imbalances my electrocution may have caused." Hearing this, the pair drink the rest of their drinks. "I can't have anything wrong with you before we start the next set of experiments". They nearly spit out their drinks at hearing this.
"Next set? Haven't you done enough?" asks Kaito, eyes sharp.
"Of course not. I needed more information on the Basic Flame before I could start. All of the previous experiments had nothing to do with the Box Weapons. However I do now know what I'm dealing with better." Verde walks out of the room and back towards 'Tsuna's' room.
"Boss are you sure we can trust him?" asks Shinichi.
Tsuna stops and looks at Shinichi. "Of course we can. He's just different that's all. As long as you remember that science is his top priority and that he doesn't really show or understand emotions then he's fine. Verde always has a reason for what he does. He's not going to kill us, it would be a waste of time and utterly useless to him, after all what can he do to dead test subjects? We're much better off alive to him, especially since he's after Flame research at the moment."
The pair have no other option but to trust their Sky. Their extremely encompassing Sky.
The rest of that day and the days following pass quite quickly. This place had no windows, expect in the botanical area, so it was hard to tell how time passed without keeping an eye on the clock. Tsuna quickly learnt that Verde and Shinichi had similar taste in coffee: strong, black, no sugar. He wasn't going to compare Verde's taste to Reborn's unless he wanted a painful injection next time. Kaito's preference was similar to his own, but far sweeter. Sure he preferred hot chocolate to coffee when he had the choice- coffee reminded him of long hours of paperwork in the middle of the night- but he still didn't go adding in whipped cream, marshmallows and chocolate sprinkles.
The morning after their fight with Verde, Tsuna goes to wake Shinichi up, bringing along a mug of coffee at Kaito's advisement. Tsuna had never been a morning person, but 5 years of living with Reborn had changed that. Now it was an ingrained habit that was hard to break. Kaito amazingly was a morning person, and that had allowed him to still get up in the mornings even after a heist the night before. They had managed to create a bedroom for all of them out of odd things around the lab. Verde was the only one with an actual mattress bed, but the others had improvised. Kaito was extremely resourceful.
Tsuna knocks on the door but doesn't receive a reply. He knocks louder and he hears some sort of moan. He carefully opens the door and finds Shinichi face down on the bed with the pillow over his head. He walks over and places the coffee down on a nearby countertop before touching Shinichi's shoulder. The detective tenses but doesn't make a move.
"Boss right?" he mumbles, muffled even more by having his head under the pillow. "You make far more noise than Kaito does. Plus you're in trainers and not heels like Kai's dress shoes." He answers the question Tsuna was sure to ask.
"Err, yeah it's me" Tsuna replies. He didn't realise Shinichi could do that. "But are you alright?" he asks, concerned.
Shinichi lets out a deep sigh. "Yeah, I just don't want to get out of bed yet." Tsuna marked that as a lie, Shinichi was someone who always wanted to be doing something productive. Maybe not on the same scale as Kaito, but still.
Testing something out, he says, "Coffee is on the green book." Like he suspected a hand shot out and grabbed the coffee. With the covers over his head Shinichi sat up and drank the coffee before placing it back where it was before. "It's no wonder you keep leaving the house so much," Tsuna remarks. "You don't want the others to see you like this. It's alright, I won't tell. You've seen me at my worst after all." Tsuna can feel the embarrassment from Shinichi through his Hyper Intuition.
Shinichi sits up and lets the covers fall off, his face quirked into an exasperated expression. "You got me Boss, there's no getting passed you is there. I've been doing assessments this week and I've tired my eyes out."
"Well, I'm just worried about you. Both of you got hurt yesterday. Plus I haven't seen you in over 2 weeks. How was your training?" Shinichi had been gone a week before Verde took him. In fact he was amazed that they had managed to find him in a week. But then again, if anyone was going to find him, he suspected it was these two. Or Hibari if he was in the mood.
"You know I can't tell you about the Vindice nor the Vendicare. But training… went well I suppose" remarks Shinichi, turning his face away from Tsuna.
"Now that's another lie" sighs Tsuna. "I wish you'd be truthful with me Shinichi. Or maybe I haven't earned your trust yet?" Shinichi stiffens slightly, caught only by his Hyper Intuition. He could tell that Shinichi was used to hiding his weakness. He didn't want to imagine what Shinichi's life was like, as harsh as it sounded. To have everyone you know and love threatened, to be near them and yet not able to say a word. He didn't have it that bad, he was only lying to his Mother, but Shinichi… he was lying to so many people. So many people that he cared about or respected.
On impulse he leans forwards and captures Shinichi in a hug. Shinichi wasn't expecting it, only hearing and feeling Tsuna's weight arrive on the bed, assuming he was going to sit next to him. He was not expecting a hug. Although it was a very warm hug he had to admit.
"W-what's this for?" stutters Shinichi, arms staying by his sides.
"You're not alone anymore Shinichi. We're here. You're part of the family now Shinichi. Gokudera finally has someone else who understands his theories, Lambo, I-pin and Fuuta love to play with you. Hibari doesn't find you an annoying, loud, rule breaking herbivore. We finally have some sanity to balance us out, you're our logic and common sense. You're the one who watches, plans everything out. I'm sure that you'll keep us safe later on in life. So I want to return the favour, I'm sure we all do. I know who you are: Shinichi Kudo, Conan Edogawa and the Guardian of the Guiding Stars. I know how you got like this, I know you're being chased and hunted by a mysterious Organisation. We all know that and not one of us has given it away. We've all kept the secret, wanting you to stay with us! What else can I do to prove to you that I'm here to help? We want to be your family, the ones who you can be yourself with. Surely you want a family bigger than just Kaito?... I swear to you on my name as Sawada Tsunayoshi, that I will get rid of this Organisation for you, once and for all with my Dying Will. I'm going to chase away the big bad wolf hanging over your head. I'm going to chase away as many of the secrets and the lies as I can since no one should be subjected to a life like that, especially not someone like you… Shinichi… please, let me in."
Silence reigns as Shinichi thinks this over. Tsuna gives him all the time he needs. Like he had told Verde, he's not the 14 year old he used to be anymore. And finally stepping into the dark has really made him appreciate the light his life used to have.
"I've watched someone die right in front of me since I was too late to save her. I've been poisoned. I've solved a murder case. I've caught a serial killer and sent her to the Vendicare. I've talked to criminal after criminal who think they have a good enough reason to end someone's existence."
"Well you're in the right place Shinichi, aren't you?" smiles Tsuna gently, not that Shinichi can see it. What Shinichi had gone through sounded painful. "You heard the promise I made to Bermuda. I nor anyone else of my family, will ever kill someone. I'm going to let you in on a promise I made to Gokudera."
"If becoming Boss of Vongola means that the bloodshed will end quicker, that we won't ever have to harm someone else, that everyone will be happy and protected, then I suppose that I had better hurry up and become one. If nothing I want will happen until I'm Boss, then there is nothing else I can do."
"Let's make a promise Gokudera. For the distant tomorrow we want, let's make a promise. For we have a dream that we can't give up."
"For the tomorrow we are aiming for, for the important things we must protect, we will do whatever is necessary."
""For the important things we must protect, we will do anything. I will do anything, they will do anything, for you, because we know you'd do the same in return." Tsuna places his hand palm up on Shinichi's knee, knowing that he wouldn't have been able to tell where his hand was otherwise.
Shinichi hated it, it made him feel weak. Why was everyone like this around him, always saying they were here to help? He was strong enough to handle this by himself. He didn't want anyone else involved! It just meant more targets and more heartbreak later on. Yet here Tsuna was, pleading with him to be able to help Shinichi with his goals. Yes, that's the reason he had joined, but what had they done so far to help? He was the one who had stood on the dock at New Years and announced to the world he was back. He was the one who had built up a worldwide reputation, making himself noticeable to his enemies. And what had they done? Nothing, nothing but cure him.
No, that was a little harsh of him. They had done more than that for him. They'd housed him, looked after him, given him new powers to combat the organisation with. He'd laughed with them, had fun times with them and started him onto the path of being a Super Detective (with these powers what else was he to call himself?).
He'd trusted Kaito because Kaito was the same as him. Shinichi and Kaito, Conan and KID, being chased and hunted to death. It was all the same. But he knew Kaito could handle himself, and had been far longer than Shinichi himself had. He knew that the likelihood of Kaito dying on him was both high and low. High because he was actively being hunted and placing himself in harm's way, but low because he had the skills and the planning to keep himself alive. Shinichi trusted in those skills having tested them out himself many times.
But Tsuna, and everyone Tsuna represented, could he really trust them not to die on him? Who was he kidding, from the stories he'd heard from them of their battle against the Varia and their trip to the future they were more than qualified to protect themselves. Assuming they had their Rings on them. No, again that wasn't true either, most of them could defend themselves without their rings.
They could… they could be trusted to stay alive.
"Get rid of them Boss. Do that and I promise to stay here afterwards and destroy you, Vongola Decimo."
Tsuna looks shocked for a moment before smiling widely and laughing. "So you knew about that did you? Have you been reading my Diary?" Shinichi smiles but shakes his head."I don't think anyone knows about that yet. I don't think even Nono suspects. But we'll see when the time comes. It's sure to be a shock."
But then Tsuna thinks more carefully about what it really meant. "So you trust me?" asks Tsuna carefully.
"I trust you. You're not going to let anyone die if you can help it, so I trust you" says Shinichi slowly and carefully. Tsuna taps his hand against Shinichi's knee once more, prompting him to take it. "I… I promise"
He didn't want to have to rely on anyone, but it was clear from these past years that doing it by himself wasn't getting him anywhere.
He had better start learning what it was like to be part of the Sky and its Weather.
Sorry for the delay, I was on Holiday.
I don't really know where the last bit came from to be honest. One of my fav reviewers asked for the Sky to get to know the Moon and Star better, and whilst I was planning for that to happen (hence why Shinichi got poisoned and went to Verde in the first place), I had only planned for some small things like Tsuna learning how to make Shinichi's coffee, or being taught magic by Kaito or something small and fluffy like that. I didn't imagine writing a scene like this, but hey, my fingers type what they will.
And now's the time to suggest what Box Weapons they should get. I had a few in the past, but I suppose now is as good a time as any to give them one. Do you think I've given Shinichi and Kaito enough Basic abilities to do without Box weapons yet? (Kaito's time with his own Arcobaleno is coming). Any suggestions need to consider both who they were in the DC manga as well as who I've made them into, and who I shall continue to make them into. And if you have suggestions for attacks that'd be good too.
I suppose all you need to remember is that Shinichi is based in Truth whilst Kaito is based in Lies (you won't believe what I've come up with surrounding that subject XD). I look forward to reading your suggestions!
I hope you enjoyed the longer than usual chapter- you can tell I've had longer than half a day to write this can't you, lol.
Phantom Hitman 1412
First Published 05 Sept 2012