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AND: Thanks to those who put this on favorites and follows. :)
Noel: I'm glad you like the way I've done things! As for Fuuta, well, he calls Tsuna papa because that's how he feels, but in his experience grandma's are old and wrinkly, and Nana is young and beautiful, so he thinks of her as an aunt. Children's logic. And because I like the way zia sounds. :D
To Other Anonymous People: Thanks for taking the time to read and review. Those who enjoyed it, I'm glad you did. Don't be afraid to offer constructive criticism or put forth questions you have on anything that confused you. :) I am confident I've done some stupid's in the short history of this story.
ON 3327 (and vice versa): Concerns over Ryohei's characterization are very, very valid. I'm not sure I could keep him completely In Character. As such I want to be cautious and continue things as they have been with hints, and the bond between Tsuna and Ryohei will hopefully come across as something like a bromance more than anything because that's what I want before and obvious romance. IF, IF, I can write them (as in non-"canon" omakes) and feel I've done okay with it, I'll see about becoming more serious about the pairing B-U-T they won't have moments like the hot-and-heavy stuff between Hibari and Tsuna. Tuna and Boxers relationship will be more innocent than that, more about cuddles and hugs and making each other smile, or at least that's how I see it.
IF YOU SKIPPED LE CHUNK OF TEXT: All of it amounts to Tsuna and Ryohei's relationship being tight and pretty innocent, and that I will try to put a bit of something more for them, starting mostly with omakes to further test the water. Also, their relationship won't be expressly romantic and definitely not sexual like the Hibari encounters of earlier. Sorry if I've disappointed anyone!
"I am about to show you what happens when you screw with one of my kids. You should probably brace yourself, this is going to hurt." ~ eCard.
Everything was going well at first.
Nana, Fuuta, and the pretty white and gold monkey-bot had gone through the shopping without trouble at all. Piero had appeared before they stepped into the grocery store and mewled a familiar plaintive cry for fish that she happily ate while held in Fuuta's arms.
It was in a park, another quiet forested area with no jungle gym, where things went wrong. Fuuta had wanted to feed the squirrels some bread before going home and so Nana said they would stay for a minute or two while going into the park a little ways from the bustling street. Piero, finished her piece of haddock, had been stalking around them with her head held high and her two-toned eyes sharp as they surveyed the trees and bushes for threats. Then the cat hissed and puffed out as she jumped closer to Fuuta, and Nana quickly drew up her Mist as she grabbed for the boy. One slightly trembling hand was dipped into her purse and gripping the handle of her rolling pin.
Only Nana and Piero could see the two blurs that rushed out of the bushes, and to Fuuta's protectors there was a discernible aura of Mist marking the presence of an illusion. With adrenaline flooding her system, Nana was quick to yank out her weapon and swing it at the blond figure heading right at her. There was a loud crack and a yowl of pain from the attacker as she hit his head, and right then a spray of needles hit her arm and chest. Nana released her hold on her Mist, flooding the park and concentrating on them. Cries of terror followed as she slipped to her knees, only half aware of Fuuta's begging for her to run as he tugged on her arm. Piero took that opportunity to launch herself at the blond and her claws shredded at his chest and neck, knocking him out of his pained stun. Nana couldn't find the strength to move, it was dwindling away despite the gentle heat of her Mist burning high within her.
The fast cat dodged the blond's swipes easily until she was hit with needles, most of which glanced off her fur, that slowed her down just enough.
Blond-boy roared, grabbed Piero's scruff with clawed fingers and threw her into a tree, leaving the cat mewling in pain and unable to move. Tsu-kun's heart would break if she died and Fuuta was taken, and Nana tenaciously clung to consciousness as she gripped her rolling pin, imbued it with bright Mist, and managed to graze the blond with one more hit. He screeched in pain and collapsed, convulsing as her illusion took hold, making him feel like electrifying needles were digging deep into his back. Nana was sprawled out and slightly twisted by the force she had swung with.
Fuuta grabbed up the rolling pin and glared at beanie-hat boy with a shocking amount of anger for a usually sweet and courteous child. Purple flames flared up around the the Vongola Rolling Pin and there was a flicker of interest in the remaining taller male. He knelt and quickly knocked the twitching blond out with a pinch to his nerve and dodged the boy's first swing. Nana was losing her consciousness after that, with black edging over her vision like an encroaching shadow.
She hadn't seen what he attacked her with before. It was a pair of strange metal yo-yo's. One of them wrapped around Fuuta before he swing again, immobilizing her boy's son. With that Nana fainted.
Fuuta writhed and cursed with the same flare as his papa whenever the Sky stubbed his baby toe too badly. Chikusa thought he would have a moment to think until that white and gold monkey-automaton near the side attacked, forcing him to lock the painfully constricting wire of his yo-yo around the kid so he could let go and dodge. Chikusa was far from ungainly despite his height of 6'0, and thanks to the agonizing experiments done by the Estraneo he was strong, fast, and had exceptional reflexes not seen in normal people. He recieved nothing more than four scratches from golden robotic claws before Chikusa dodged out of the way of what was unmistakably martial arts and used his other yo-yo on it, wrapping the robot in lethal wire and slicing through enough of it to make the nuisance a non-threat. The monkey's head rolled to the side and turned off.
"Zia! Zia, wake up! You're g-gonna be okay!"
The Ranking Child wriggled on the ground, trying to inch his way toward the unconscious, sweet looking woman who had fought so fiercely for him. There were tears dripping down the child's face, a bleeding scratch on his cheek, and there was such desperation making his voice crack. The wires bit into his flesh the more he moved, heedless of the pain and blood trailing thickly along the thin metal and coloring the grass. Being a calm and rational Rain, Chikusa could see that Master Mukuro could have a use for this woman of such strong Mist Flames, and certainly he would be interested in her only because of the power she possesses. As the Ranking Child was the only one needed right then, and he couldn't carry three people without being too inconspicuous, Chikusa decided it was better to give her the antidote.
It had absolutely nothing to do with those tears or the thick smell of blood he had drawn from a child.
Chikusa knelt by the target, Fuuta he reminded himself absently, and placed a gentle hand on his head, startling the kid and making him freeze.
"Please relax, I will give her the antidote." And he did just that, pulling out a small siringe with green fluid to inject into her neck. Fuuta watched intently and only relaxed as the abnormal pallor of his aunt's face grew into a healthier flush. "There, she will live. You are still coming with us."
"Will Piero live? Th-the cat?"
Chikusa stared at him before eyeing the needles glinting on the ground. Those were the ones he sent at the beast and judging by how many lay in the grass, only three at most hit and that was only if the fur hadn't stopped it all. He didn't care to inspect the cat and guessed that at least one reached its skin since it wasn't moving.
"It will live. The poison is geared toward killing humans. Animals have more of a natural immunity and it did not get a full dose."
Fuuta's lip was bleeding from how hard he bit himself, but he nodded and ignored the harsh pain of wires slicing into his bare arms. Chikusa knocked the boy out with a pinch like his idiotic partner, and after signaling Lancia, were all headed through Namimori with a moderate use of the Shadow Step Technique keeping them from being noticed.
. . .
Tsuna, in Nagakusa park, was seated on the grass with Takeshi, Gokudera, Kyoko, Hana, and Ryohei sitting cross-legged around him like kindergarten class. The little blue monkey-animoid-computer, Aota, was perched on a branch above and recording them simply because she wanted to. Everyone was practicing with Vongola Crystals because Tsuna was interested in seeing whether anyone had more than one Flame type. It seemed like no one had any other affinities (aside from Hana and her secondary Cloud) until Gokudera shouted in triumph and eagerly shoved four jewels under his nose: blue tourmaline, green flourite, purple spinel, and a yellow topaz- all glowing with individual Flames.
"Juudaime, what do you think?"
He brought to mind an excited puppy, Tsuna couldn't help himself. He reached over and gently brushed his fingers through Gokudera's hair with a grin, enjoying the happy smile he put on the taller teens face with that soft touch.
"I'm glad you're happy with this, Gokudera-kun! I'm sure you can do a lot of great things."
Gokudera dropped the glowing crystals and clasped his hand. "Once I master all these Flames, Juudaime, I can protect you all the better! Maybe then I'll be worthy of becoming your Right Hand man!"
Takeshi threw his arm around Tsuna with a grin, tucking him close and pulling him away from the bomber in one move. "Shouldn't the best friend be his Right Hand? Kyoko, Hana and myself have more dibs than you! Ahaha! Oh, and so does Hibari!"
A blush colored the Sky's cheeks and he ducked away from his friend. "It's going to be a long time until I declare anyone being my Right Hand, arm, whatever!"
Hana moved closer and lightly elbowed him with a playful smile. "If anything I should be your Right Arm, eh, lion-monkey? You need someone level-headed and all the other great things I am."
Kyoko crawled closer and threw her arms around Tsuna, eliciting a quiet eep and a darker blush from him, and she giggled. "If Hana-chan gets to be your Right Hand, I'm your Left. I'll keep Tsuna-kun safe and happy!"
Ryohei threw his fists in the air with yell of "YOSH!" and he jumped up, punching the air hard and fast enough to send a small shockwave through the air to splinter a tree's bark. "I'll take down everything coming at us! Nothing'll touch Kyoko, Tsuna, or any of us!"
A bit embarrassed by all the attention and touching, Tsuna turned away and came face to face with a smirking Reborn who said something in what sounded like Russian with a distinctly teasing tone. How unfair. Before the Decimo could say a word to anyone, like to give him some breathing space please, his blushing really had to stop, he went pale as a choking wave of cold Intuition churned his stomach in a nauseating way. He hunched forward and held his mouth as the need to get up and run toward some place he didn't know hit him.
"Juudaime!" Gokudera and the others crowded a bit closer in their concern.
"Tsuna-kun, what's wrong, what are you sensing?" said Kyoko. The warm touch of her Sun was rubbing his back.
Through a concerted effort of will Tsuna did not go rushing off like the hounds of hell were trying to bite off his scrawny butt. He gently shook off their touches and pushed through Ryohei and Takeshi to press his palm against a tree. His hand was singeing the bark as Sky-Lightning in his skin pushed to lash out at an unknown enemy. It took Reborn jumping onto his shoulder and slapping his cheek with ruler-Leon to snap him out of it and regain control.
"Baka-Tsuna, lead the way before I shoot you."
Everyone was on their feet by this time and Kyoko had thoughtfully gathered the Vongola Crystals into their velvet bag. Tsuna turned and looked everyone over with fearful glowing amber eyes. He nodded once and took off, conscious of their following behind. A five minute run left him and the rest entering a little used park to find his mother unconscious and surrounded by groceries.
Fuuta's froggy money bag was laying beside a short streak of crushed grass colored a drying rusty-red in patches. Tsuna froze at the sight, locking his body in place to keep the desire to tear apart the area trapped inside. Hana gathered fallen groceries along with Takeshi as Reborn inspected the scene, and the Sasegawa siblings immediately set to healing Nana. Tsuna's eyes turned to a silver lump half obscured by tall grass. His self-imposed paralysis was broken and he bolted forward to pick up his cat with shaking arms. He hurried to Reborn and knelt, tongue too tied with rage, terror and pain to verbally ask him for a healing. The Arcobaleno didn't need to hear his plea and Piero's broken body was healed into perfect condition. She remained unconscious, however, much like his mother.
"W-we need to find who took Fuuta," Tsuna said, voice rough and broken by the effort not to growl. "We find them... and teach that bastard to never touch my Famiglia."
. . .
In sixty minutes nearly everyone following Tsuna gathered at his home.
Kyoko's weapons were white combat gloves made from thick Dying Will silk courtesy of Reborn's Leon, and the each glove contained powdered precious-steel sewn into every inch of it. Her outfit consisted of a grey tank top and multi-pocket black cargo's held up by a belt holding a pair of semi-automatic dart guns, with extra ammo in each pocket. Hana was dressed similarly with a blue top and grey pants, and her long hair was braided back. On her hips rested two genuine guns, while her fists sported black combat gloves, and custom open-toe shoes. Ryohei was dressed in easy-to-move in camouflage and sported heavy Dying Will silk black boxing gloves filled with powdered precious-steel. Takeshi wore a samurai-like outfit, minus obvious armor, and had the pale-metal sword Reborn gave him months ago. Gokudera was dressed his usual clothes and had packed extra explosives, as well as his chemical bombs just in case he got the chance to use one. Tsuna wore his black and orange martial arts outfit with the X27-Gloves already gracing his hands.
Hibari had been missing for a day according to Reborn. Worry for the Cloud was adding to everything else. Fortunately Bianchi and Fon were remaining behind to watch over I-Pin, Lambo and his madre.
Spanner soon drove up in green bus painted with orange flames. Everything was quiet on the drive to Kokuyo Land, the place where Reborn's tracking device said Fuuta was being held. Tsuna sat at the back with Reborn, and to keep calm the boy concentrated on a blue chalcedony full of Takeshi and Hana's Rain. Beside him Reborn stroked Leon to keep his itchy trigger fingers from twitching.
. . .
Spanner dropped them off outside of Kokuyo Land, and the genius mechanic quietly asked Tsuna to keep Aota on or near him so she can record the proceedings. The Sky nodded absently, telling the engineer to drive back carefully. Thinking to ask why a fourteen year old knew how to drive in Japan was something that would hit later, and even then he would shrug and think, "Well, it is Spanner."
The troubles delaying them from reaching Fuuta through a massive broken amusement park would feel like forever.
First was Hana who volunteered to fight a pair of freaky bastards called the Bloody Twins by a creepy bird man who ordered them to attack. Working off his Intuition, Tsuna nudged Kyoko forward to join Hana in the fight and said he would intervene if he felt he had to. The girls worked beautifully together, fluid movements combined with controlled deadly force. Neither girl allowed the twins to remain close to one another and with Hana's Rain weakening the inhuman looking men in green uniforms, the Bloody Twins were defeated in three minutes and left temporarily paralyzed for Gokudera to tie them up.
The eerie man named Birds had disappeared somewhere earlier, but a large flock of tiny yellow puffball birds were slowly flying away like a signal and Tsuna's Intuition said the man had been defeated. Probably by Reborn as the little hitman had disappeared from his shoulder briefly, and literally, one minute beforehand.
As the group advanced onward they met with a feral looking blond who pointed out Takeshi as his chosen "prey". The swordsman placed his hand on Tsuna's shoulder and promised he would win, and the fight wasn't a very long one at all. A few Rain-laced cuts here and several well-placed slams with the side of his blade to the blond's limbs left the guy beaten and broken, and Takeshi had enough conscience to drag the enemy away from a long, long drop down a hole.
Gokudera fought a yo-yo wielding boy. It was certainly a tricky battle that the Storm had to get creative in, using deception and a lot of running around, to hit the yo-yo wielder and keep his attention off the audience, and with the amount of wind he could not use his chemical bombs. Gokudera was hit with a blast of needles when he took a hit meant for Kyoko, and though he liked the girl and her dedication to their boss just fine, he did it to protect the Juudaime from the heartbreak of losing a friend. Gokudera quickly recognized the burn of poison and he turned to Tsuna, choking out an apology before he fainted*. Angry, the Decimo stepped forward with Reborn still perched on his shoulder, and activated his gloves with eyes blazing.
"This won't be a long fight, Beanstalk," he said, voice low and almost rumbling with his suppressed emotions.
"I agree. You won't last long."
Whatever the enemy expected it wasn't for Tsuna to blur in close and slam his already damaged body with a Lightning-Sky palm, knocking him unconscious in one go. He knelt and went through the boy's clothing and came away with several small needles of green fluid that he held out to Reborn.
"That should be the antidote. Someone will have to stay back and watch over him."
The needles were gone in a blink and Tsuna looked up to see Hana, her eyes burning an icy blue in a face twisted by anger. "Tsuna-monkey, I'll protect Gokudera with my life. You go save Fuuta and kick ass."
Tsuna took the time to truss up Beanstalk, then gave her a hug before he and the remaining company moved on. Kyoko and Ryohei chose to walk a little ahead by this time and were on high alert. A short time later when the boxer threw himself toward the group and Kyoko back-flipped to stand in front of Tsuna, it was obviously time for another fight as right where they were standing and waiting for the others to catch up, a rock exploded into shards.
"Wow, you all give dumbasses such a bad name," said a bob-haired redhead leaving the trees to the left. In her hands was a clarinet. "Chikusa and Ken are both weak imbéciles for having lost to you. I'll show you boys and one silly girl how a real woman fights!"
Kyoko tilted her head at the obvious challenge and stepped forward while speaking in a deceptively sweet voice, "Well, then I guess I should be your opponent!"
Tsuna could almost taste the poisonous difference in Kyoko's tone. Back in Mafia Land it had been a mock battle, no one was in serious danger, but here there was Fuuta at stake. Here Gokudera had been incapacitated by poisoned needles that needed an antidote.
The young woman introduced herself as M.M. and she started out her fight explosively, making the ground where Kyoko stood burst up in flying bits of flaming grass and old wood. Kyoko rushed in, her Sun burning powerfully inside and upping her already remarkable strength. M.M. dodged one hit and watched with jaw dropped as Kyoko's fist slammed through a thick tree and broke it in half, and from then on fight between M.M. and the Sun-girl was about dodging soundwave attacks and large pieces of thrown wall and rocks. At the four minute mark Kyoko grew visibly impatient and decided to take a leaf out of her big brother's favorite manga and pushed Sun into her fists until they was blazing brightly, then she rushed at the agile enemy and slammed one fist into the ground near her. At the same time she released the gathered Sun Flames in hopes of causing the earth to fracture.
Augmentation can be applied to many things, such as enhancing intelligence, strength, and the growth rate of plants. Kyoko tried to apply Augmentation to what was already going to be a magnificent earth shaking hit, and caused thirty feet of shattered earth to erupt, prompting Tsuna and the others to dive behind trees and boulders. M.M. stood no chance and was knocked out by chunk of flying rubble.
A dazed Tsuna, laughing Takeshi, and ecstatic Ryohei left their hiding places. Privately Reborn pondered how to go about choosing dual Guardians for two Flames.
"EXTREME! Kyoko, you're just like Sakura-chan from Naruto!"
After dusting off her hands Kyoko returned to the group and handily healed a cut on Tsuna's cheek with one stroke of her finger. No one knowledgeable about the series commented on why it could be a horrific development if she did become just like Haruno Sakura*.
In Kokuyo Hideout
Before he left the room an apathetic looking man, tall, heavily scarred, and marked by tattoos, had bandaged Fuuta's shallow wounds. The boy was tied to a chair and glaring at the blue haired teen with heterochromatic eyes. Said older male was simply smiling and looking as creepy as he was handsome and Fuuta knew his papa would like him about as much as anyone loved root canals.
"Capturing you got me much more than I bargained for, little Ranking Child," said the teen as he played with a wilting cherry blossom. His silky voice sent an unpleasant shiver through Fuuta and his defiant glare did not relent. "Fortunately you are the honey drawing in prey I sought for anyway."
Now the child's angry composure broke and he paled. "Tsu-Tsuna*! You're after the Vongola!"
"Kufufufu~! You're a smart one, I like that. Once I take control of one head I take control of the crown of darkness he holds."
Fuuta was trembling. "Ts-Tsuna is strong. He won't lose to you!"
"Oh, but he will. You're dear to him, aren't you? Would be risk losing you?"
"Yes!" No. "He's too great to fall for a trick like that!"
"Kufufufu. Your voice says otherwise, little mouse."
Decimo and his Friends
There was a man standing in everyone's way. He called himself Rokudo Mukuro and Tsuna's Intuition rejected that entirely. The man had a weapon, a strangely shaped metal ball on a chain and the snake like deep grooves on the sphere gave Tsuna one bad feeling.
"He's mine, I have to fight him," he said, voice firm and soft. "All of you move back and out of the way. This might get ugly."
X27-Gloves blazed into gauntlet form and Tsuna stared the man down for a moment. "What is your real name?"
Mechanical voice, low and monotone. "I am Rokudo Mukuro, and I'm here for your head, Decimo."
Tsuna drew his hybrid Flame to the surface, hardening his skin, and cautiously attacked first to see what this mystery man could do. Immediately a chain lashing out at him made it so the young Sky had to dodge and flip out of the way, and right after that the large metal ball came rushing at him with a massive wind current surrounding it like a miniaturized tornado. Tsuna was sent spinning through the air and crashed through two trees before the attack ceased. The Decimo hurried out to place himself between the man and where he knew his friends were observing out of sight.
Romu, as Tsuna mentally dubbed the shirtless and scarred man, had dead looking eyes. "Now you know to abandon all hope, for there is no path for you to walk in which you still exist."
"TSUNA!" Takeshi's voice filled the large clearing. "His ball makes whirlwinds because of the grooves on the steel! Be careful, we know you can beat him!"
"That wasn't even a third of my strength, young Vongola. Simply knowing the trick won't preserve your life. Once you are dead... I will finish off those hiding in the trees."
Images of his friends laying broken, bleeding and dead flashed through Tsuna's mind. He would not have that, not now and not ever. His body crackled with the amber electricity as he shed the mental shackles of needing to hold back because it was either he let this man win to go on and kill his Famiglia, or he becomes the brutal protector he needs to be.
Tsuna let out a growl and instead of the hybrid, his gauntlets blazed with pure Sky as he blurred forward right as Romu sent the snake-steel-ball flying at him. From Takeshi's shoulder Aota the monkey-persocom recorded audio and video, zoomed in and captured Tsuna, not in DWM, catch the steel ball in his hands and wrench Romu forward, unsettling his stance enough for the Decimo to quickly grab the chain and melt through it. One might assume that Romu was defenseless without his Steel Serpent Ball, but he was proficient in hand to hand combat and physically powerful, more than enough to keep Tsuna on his toes as they exchanged blows and dodged each others hits. As this part of the fight went on longer than a minute Tsuna came to a startling realization - this man, whoever he is, didn't want to kill him or anyone. There was no bloodlust, no enjoyment in the fight that a twisted killer would feel, and there was even an edge of reluctance to every hit that landed on the boy. What formed an idea was how Tsuna, more sensitive in some ways when imbued only with Sky*, could feel that there was something wrong inside Romu's mind.
It had to be eradicated.
While Sky is the hottest possible Flame it does not always burn. Intention and will changes the temperature of it and Tsuna's goal was not to burn the man alive. He rushed Romu and, through the element of surprise as he wasn't expected to us a tackle-move, managed to grab Romu's head with both hands. The could only grab Tsuna's slim wrists in his hands, grinding the bones and bruising, before the feel of Sky Flames, so painfully familiar, began easing away a terrible cold that had manipulated him for years. Once it was gone Romu let go of the boy, allowing his hands to fall to the ground as he shuddered briefly.
There was absolute silence for a minute as Tsuna rolled off of him and checked the man for injuries needing healing, fortunately there were only minor burns and bruises. Then "Romu" opened his eyes they showed a black almost glowing with the light of free thought and life.
"My name... is Lancia, young Decimo."
What followed was a short but heart-wrenching story. The man, an orphan, was taken in by a kind Famiglia and became a protector, and was soon known as the strongest man in Northern Italy. One day his boss brought home a small kid who became Lancia's responsibility and this boy, Rokudo Mukuro, later used Lancia's body as a tool of murder. Mukuro made Lancia kill his own Famiglia and for years afterward Lancia was taken over and used that way again and again. Perhaps it was a mercy that he could not recall the actual acts, only the aftermath scenes. Horrified doesn't begin to touch upon what Tsuna felt.
"Young Vongola... Mukuro's objective is to possess you like he did me. In your body he would take over the mafia world and then destroy everything. He wants... to bathe the world in blood."
"Okay, thank you for telling me this, Lancia-san," Tsuna said, kneeling beside the man who was still sitting on the ground. "I'm going to find Mukuro and beat him to within an inch of his life, get back my kid, and then you and I are going to talk about how I can help you."
Lancia's eyes bugged and he stared. "Wh-what?"
"Would you please go find my friends?" Though weak, the young Sky's smile was genuine. "One is a silver haired boy recovering from poison, another is a black haired girl dressed like my blond friend over there."
"But..."
Tsuna stood and pulled Lancia to his feet, then held the man's eyes steadily. "You're still a good man all these years later. I know I can trust you to find them and protect them from anything too much for them to handle."
Instead of eating up more of the boy's time Lancia's face set in determination and he ducked his head. "In repayment for freeing me I will protect them."
. . .
"That was a gamble, Tsuna," said Reborn.
"It wasn't. When it's working like it is now I know I can trust my Intuition completely, and it says he's good. I also want Lancia-san in my Famiglia, if he'll stick around."
"How can you tell that he won't turn around and kill you?"
"Lancia-san and the times he killed all those people are separate. It was Mukuro controlling him. He's the one to be weary of. He's the one that's going to wish he was never born with bones."
"The Vindice will want them all." Reborn's tone in sent a chill down Tsuna's spine.
"What are... who are they?"
Kyoko and Ryohei were once again ahead of everyone but with Takeshi guarding the back, they moved in a malformed ring around Tsuna like a shield, listening in on what the hitman was about to say.
"The Mafia world has its own rules that must be followed and the ones that enforce these rules are the Vindice. Inhuman beings wrapped in black jackets, bandages that obscure all facial features, and a lot of chains that they use to incapacitate an enemy." Reborn was silent for a moment, remembering a time when he met them. "They have the ability to use a black energy like the Flames of the Sky, only theirs allows them to create portals to appear through anywhere and anytime. They appear to have no human concept of compassion or feeling, only the cold enforcement of Mafia law."
"And these... these Vindice will want to take away Lancia-san."
"As much as I would like to say otherwise, Tsuna, it's best to let them take him. If you draw their attention I'm not sure what they would do."
"Hm. I'll keep that in mind."
That was not the answer he wanted, but trying getting anything more out of a stubborn Sky would be futile.
. . .
There it was. The heart of Kokuyo Land, or at least where Reborn's tracker and laptop-Leon lead them to.
It was a large and decrepit building unfit for habitation, with a wall of battered windows on the upper floor. From the angle his group stood at there were a number of entrances for them to get inside with, and given the slight tinging of orange in the heavens above, Tsuna decided they had taken too long enough to fight through Mukuro's henchmen and navigate the haunted looking broken theme park. Tsuna went to a broken door and gently plucked Aota from Takeshi's shoulder.
"Would you check to see if anyone is waiting on the inside, Aota-chan?"
His little monkey-com nodded and darted inside only come running out (and clinging to his front) from a few vacant-eyed and battered looking teenagers wielding kitchen blades and pipes. As Tsuna had been right there he had to dodge back only to blink in surprise when his three remaining friends darted forward and made short work of the teens before he could do a thing, and not one of them had a single scratch from the attack.
Reborn landed on Tsuna's shoulder and leveled a serious look on his students face as he tugged a lock of hair to make the boy face him. "Each and every person in your Family cares deeply for you. They're like Dino's men, they would take a bullet to save you because your life matters so much to them."
"I-I think I knew that..." Tsuna swallowed hard forced away some dizziness at the realization. "I would do the same for them, and given the chance I'd do it for you too."
Reborn pinched his cheek and flatly said that the student isn't supposed to sacrifice himself for the teacher, don't be so stupid. A shrug was his pupil's reply.
Tsuna gathered hybrid Flames to a deep part of his brain* and shivered as a sharp awareness of his surroundings came to him, like when he practiced internal use of his Lightning when learning the Shadow Step technique. He entered the building with Kyoko flanking him on his left and Takeshi on his right, and Ryohei was behind them as Reborn jumped down to walk in front of Tsuna with gun-Leon at the ready. There was no taking chances with an individual like Mukuro who had wiped out eight (albeit mostly corrupt) Mafia Famiglia in his lifetime. Not knowing where Hibari was being kept left Tsuna too distracted, so he sent Takeshi and Ryohei off to find him and make sure he was alive. There was also a request to Ryohei to keep his mouth shut until after Hibari was up and about like his usual self, and healed if need be.
"Tsuna-kun, while they check down here why don't we go upstairs?"
With Sky-Lightning thrumming beneath his skin and lukewarm Intuition agreeing, Tsuna nodded and with Reborn on his shoulder, and Aota on Kyoko's, they ascended cement steps to what must have been a grand room made for parties and entertainment. Torn and threadbare maroon drapes overtop a stage empty save for a ratty "throne" added a further creepiness to the silent surroundings. Tsuna's Intuition was cold and plucking at his nerves, telling him to remain alert and watch out for something hiding in the drapes. With Kyoko and Reborn, now on the floor, flanking him he stepped further inside. He reminded himself again that he was here for Fuuta and that was the only thing, aside from the well-being of his Famiglia, that mattered. And then his boy stumbled out from the left side of the stage with heavy bandages wrapped around his arms. To the Decimo's private relief he was still dressed in the same purple sleeveless hoodie and jeans Tsuna saw him in that morning. His arms were wrapped up and he looked more dirty than battered.
"Fuuta!"
"Fuuta-kun!"
Both teens had rushed over without thinking, without heeding the fine hairs standing up on the back of their necks. Kyoko was fussing over him, petting the child's hair and saying she promised to protect him more from then on, and Tsuna was standing outside of Fuuta's reach and staring intently at the throne on the stage. There was something there, a concentration of beware-beware-beware tickling with unnerving familiarity. Reborn stood on Tsuna's shoulder and noted that there was subtle Mist Flames suffusing the entire space, easily obscuring the presence of any specific illusion or the user.
When the hitman turned his attention to Fuuta and spotted deadened eyes like "Romu's", it was in time to see something silver flash and for Kyoko to receive a strange trident weapon piercing deeply into her stomach. She fell back with a choked sound of surprise and hugged her middle while Tsuna, pale and hardy breathing, watched weak pulses of her Sun flicker, barely visible through the dark blood soaking her clothes.
"Baka-Tsuna!" Reborn kicked his student away and saved him from being touched by the trident. "This isn't the time to be scared, your Family needs you!"
Tsuna slowly stood upright and there was that icy feeling in the air again. Reborn, Fuuta, and Kyoko's breaths were coming out in thick vapor like the Decimo's. A second ticked by and Tsuna's Hyper Dying Will awoke and cranked up his cold Presence until there was frost greying the dark drapes and the corners of the room. In a soft voice made almost monotonous by his trying to distance himself from the murderous rage writhing in his chest, Tsuna asked Reborn to heal Kyoko.
Before this the presence hanging around the stage had been watching him and his little show. Now, however, puppet-Fuuta launched himself at the Decimo and in a blurred, nearly invisible movement the trident was sent sailing across the room to embed itself in the dense wood of the stage "throne", nearly knocking it backwards.
"Come out and face me," Tsuna said. In one hand he held a struggling dead-eyed Fuuta."I promised someone I'd beat you to near death."
"Kufufu. There lies the problem, little Decimo. You lack the drive to end life."
Indigo light flared and faded in wisps, revealing a teenage male lounging on the throne-like chair. Like his other henchmen Mukuro favored Kokuyo High uniforms along with a nice hat. In his gloved hands was a black staff, probably the main body to that trident Tsuna so stupidly sent flying at him. With a low growl Tsuna cautiously dragged Fuuta towards where Reborn stood healing Kyoko with help from his yellow pacifier. She was half-conscious by this time, eyes glassy and skin pale as she was muttering apology after apology under her breath. Tsuna would have picked her up and cradled her close at a better time, but he could only knock his struggling bambino unconscious with a nerve-pinch and trust him to Reborn. The infant quickly tied him up and promised to keep him safe.
"Killing is rarely the answer," Tsuna said as he slowly walked closer and withdrew precious-steel tonfa that replaced his old ones. These gold and dark-metal looking weapons, designed by Reborn and Spanner, could do several things that the young fledgling boss intended to use if he found a chance to. "And if it is your personal choice to kill rampantly, I will have to stop you."
Mukuro chuckled and smirked as he stood to hop off the stage. "In the gentlest way possible, I take it? The Vongola will fall too easily under your weak rule, little Sky."
"A kingdom built on corpses means nothing to me."
Tsuna did not allow the other to respond, he blurred forward and clipped Mukuro's side before the boy could twist out of the way. Mukuro went flying back and rolled straight onto his knees with a delighted sort of deranged smile on his face.
"Perfect! You are the perfect specimen, Vongola."
A look of contempt twisted Tsuna's face and he narrowed his eyes. "You have lofty goals, but taking over the body of one kid to destroy the mafia and then the world is a bit much for another brat, no matter what they've gone through."
"Kufufu. You certainly talk big, Decimo... but can you break your heart?"
Tsuna's eyes narrowed and he watched Mukuro reach for a weapon hidden in his coat right as the doors on the other far end of the hall burst open, letting in Hibari and his dark aura of imminent bone breakage. Mukuro paused and watched the Cloud covered in bruises and scabbed over cuts move as though the megalomaniac had not broken dozens of bones*. A moment after the Skylark's eyes landed on Mukuro a purple glow entered them and he advanced swiftly like a swooping, vengeful black eagle. There was no time to do more than barely dodge a strike that sliced into the Illusionists cheek as Hibari swiftly had the killer dodging back and avoiding hits until the softly cool presence of Mist, different from the Sky's current aura and different from Nana's warmer Flames, spiked. Gorgeous trees of sakura and a heavy smell of delicate pink blossoms filled the room. Hibari, to Tsuna's horror, went down like a puppet with his strings cut.
The trident was swiftly stabbed into Hibari's shoulder as the illusion faded and Tsuna launched himself at Mukuro with a snarl on his face. He landed a solid punch that sent the older boy flying and crashing through two walls behind the stage. Tsuna stood in a Peonia Ballo martial arts stance, slightly hunched with his arms raised in a vaguely defensive manner and his feet poised to nimbly jump away. Hurried footsteps brought Takeshi to Tsuna's side while Ryohei went toward his sister with yell of anger and anguish that hurt to hear. Mukuro left the holes his body made and in his hands was a gun that he, with a smirk, pointed at his head and -
BANG!
"What the hell!" Takeshi said in a sharp voice. "He went and killed himself when he knew he was going to lose?"
Ryohei, now holding his sister upright as Reborn finished healing her, growled with a dark look on his face. "Good. That bastard hurt Kyoko!"
Tsuna could not relax after that gunshot, and in fact he was even more tense. There was a presence in the room, felt it hovering over him like some pitch black abyss waiting to swallow him and everyone else. No, this was not over. With that sensation of darkness nearly choking him, Tsuna noticed when the abyss lessened, but did not connect it to Hibari standing up with the trident in his possession. He approached, twirling a tonfa in one hand, and the sharp pinch of Intuition came a second too late as Takeshi was cut by Mukuro's weapon, wielded by a smirking and odd-eyed prefect.
Before he could so much as curse, Tsuna was grabbed by Takeshi and physically restrained.
* Gokudera and Poison: I imagine Chikusa exchanged a slower poison for a faster one.
* Fuuta: I hope it was obvious but here, he wanted to hide from Mukuro how important he is to Tsuna, that's why he refrained from saying papa. (Not that it made any difference, but hey.)
* SAKURA: Major love for her, seriously. She's an awesome character and I don't mean to be harsh, but... Kyoko and her are a kinda opposites and Sakura has a temper Tsuna would not want to deal with. He doesn't have Naruto's resilience to Hulk punches after all. AND THANK YOU Akayuki Novak for telling me about the lack of note for her! D: I always forget something!
* Sky and Sky-Lightning: I go into this more later on, but the difference in awareness is supernatural and more like high enhanced human senses.
* Deep Part of Brain: The amygdala. Sue me if the science is wrong, but I didn't expressly refer to it in-story. I'm working off of what I read about it. *shifty eyes* AH, THE JUDGING IS BURNING!
* Mukuro was using one of his Hell Paths (and Mist) to disguise himself in the chair. What Tsuna sensed was the malicious presence he got a read off of in Lancia.
* Fuuta's Clothes: I don't have to say what crossed Tsuna's mind, right?
* Enough of Hibari's bones were healed by Ryohei. Just in case people are as unobservant as me. :D
* Ryohei's Anger: As much as he can be an oblivious goofball, I can see there being some limit to that. He saw Tsuna's condition after being shot four times, and that made him pissed off, and seeing his beloved sister laid out with a puddle of blood beneath her, well, I think that would make a lot of people snap in some way.
As always: constructive criticism, or simply pointing out mistakes, is as welcomed as good ol' squee-triggering reviews that make me high as a kite.