Hibari's Ploy
That night...
Its Hibari VS Gola Mosca.
A crucial fight because they must determine WHO is inside Gola Mosca. The 9th or some unfortunate sod?
Its now 11 om and Hibari came, confident, ready and just eager to kick machinery ass.
There's a ring prepared for them in the sports field too, to Ryohei's horror.
'Now what kind of crazy they cooked up?' Gokudera wondered aloud. 'Everything other than turf-top and Chrome's matches are total nutjobs for arenas.'
'Haha, senpai and Chrome-chan are lucky in that regard.' Yamamoto chuckled. 'I'm kinda jealous.' he pouted petulantly. They sat by the grassy part of the grounds together while the Kokuyo Gang sat a distance away from them. Apparently under orders to watch from Mukuro.
'There's a barb-wire fence, an electric barb-wire fence, automatic gatling guns...who knows what else the Cervello cooked up.' the bomber grimaced.
'I really don't like to know what they came up with this time...I wonder if my match is just as insane?' Tsuna whimpered, burying his face in his hands.
Because of the fact that Mai could use her lightning flames, Reborn trained him in flames in advance because as boss, he cannot lag behind from his subordinates. That's impermissible. He learned how to use his flames but as he is now, he can only do so in HDWM and using his gloves as he can't fight without burning his hands yet. He didn't have the same mastery levels as Mai after all. Physical training, Meditation and Flames and in the ten days before the Varia came, they were working on the Primo's technique as it was what stopped Xanxus before. And they're STILL training during the day, and trained enough to no longer need a bullet although Basil still gave him his pills that his father invented since activating on his own is still difficult.
But still, it raised his confidence points even though he's no Xanxus, Mai and Mukuro in regards to mastery and skill in power.
'The mission of the Cloud Guardian is to be the aloof drifting cloud who protects the family from an individual standpoint and whom nothing can ever bind.' said twin 2.
'Basically he does the job on his own terms and his own methods to interpret what the boss wants done and accomplish his tasks all the same while nobody can boss him around.' Mai snorted. 'Assuming both the boss and the Cloud truly know and understand each other in perfect sync that is...'
'So Tsuna, be good buddies with Hibari and we know how to be his buddy.' Yamamoto grinned.
Tsuna shivered horribly.
To be worth Hibari's respect, you have to be stronger than he is.
Fuuuuuuck.
'...we have prepared the most extreme field for him.' twin 2 continued. 'The field is surrounded on all sides with barbed wire, as well as eight automatic batteries that shoot at any mobile object detected within 30 meter radius. Furthermore there are countless pressure-sensitive mines buried under the ground. Once activated, an alarm will immediately sound followed by an explosion.'
'That's a battlefield!' Ryohei exclaimed in horror.
'So its just barbed wire...who needs an electric fence when there's eight motion-sensing gatling batteries?' Tsuna groaned in a deadpan voice.
'If you're scared you can just run.' Xanxus sneered.
'Up yours, scarhead!' Gokudera retorted.
'Then we shall begin.' said twin 1. 'The Battle for the Guardian of the Cloud, Gola Mosca VS Hibari Kyoya, begin!'
Hibari looked at his opponent who is just a machine with a trap if he wasn't careful enough. If he wasn't, either he alone or all six of them will join Mukuro in Vendicare as Mukuro is the seventh guardian. Chrome is just his stand-in so she's spared if he accidentally kills the prisoner. He was made to study the blueprints of a Mosca so he has to thoroughly destroy everything but leave the 'passenger's seat' intact.
He found this highly annoying and it pisses him off, and it took the fun out of fighting by having a hostage. Damn herbivores.
When Mosca lunged at him, Hibari knew what to do.
He disabled the weapons systems and the sensors systems...then systematically beat the tar out of it in pieces along with its control systems and anything else while getting his ring.
All in a span of one minute.
If that wasn't bad-ass, they didn't know what is.
However...
Its still moving!
'There's something they didn't tell me about...' Hibari swore as he evaded the attack and kicked away the power core way over to the other side...towards his group!
'EEK!' and they scampered away to avoid it.
However, with remaining power Mosca is still functioning!
Hibari guessed that the Varia added some more kinks that Vongola did not know about. But his mission is to save the power supply captive or all of them or he alone would go to Vendicare if the hostage is who they think it is.
He took his sweet time to pulverize the mosca until it no longer moved, and even kicked the pieces at the gatling guns, and at the grounds where the mines are.
Boom.
Pandemonium all over while he remained safe at the center.
'Hibari!' Ryohei yelled.
'Hibari-san!' Tsuna cried out in worry as they watched in horror as all the mines exploded.
'Hn. This leaves a bad taste in my mouth.' they heard Hibari say. 'Oy, you king of monkeys...' he called out. 'Get your ass over here now. That fat-ass left a bad taste, I want someone decent in your band of chimps.' several jaws dropped in disbelief and began sweating buckets.
'I-is he...crazy?' Mai giggled weakly. 'He wants to take on the boss killer?'
'I didn't think sanity is in his vocabulary since he was born.' Gokudera said sarcastically. Cue more sweatdrops.
Xanxus grinned...and obliged him.
'Uhm, guys? While Xanxus is distracted since I got the feeling Hibari-san did for us, how about we rescue whoever's in here?' Tsuna piped up as they quickly left with Mosca's power source and went into the school building's clinic. There, Mai used her lightning as a laser cutter to hack her way through and there...an old man in a get-up fit for mental patients complete with full-body restraints.
But an old man Tsuna and Reborn knew.
'Jii-chan?' several heads looked at him. 'He's the ninth!' Tsuna exclaimed in recognition. 'I remember...he visited with dad once when I was a kid...back when dad was still telling us that he works for a Construction Company and he's his boss...he's the Vongola Boss all along!' he cried in realization.
'And Xanxus stuffed the ninth in Gola Mosca?' Gokudera swallowed as the man regained consciousness and saw the children. Timoteo slowly woke in the eyes of the children.
'Tsuna...yoshi-kun?' he spoke softly and apologetically. 'All this...is my fault. I'm sorry.'
'What're you talking about?!'
'All this happened due to my weakness...that Xanxus woke from his long sleep.' Timoteo continued.
'What do you mean by 'sleep'?' Reborn frowned. 'After the Cradle Affair, Xanxus was cast out of the Vongola and kept under strict surveillance wasn't he?'
'Cradle...?' Tsuna croaked out.
'It was eight years ago. The largest coup d'etat in Vongola History.' Reborn explained. Eight years ago...they'd be kids at the time still in grade school and kindergarten! 'Because the rebel army was led by Xanxus, the 9th boss' son, this was treated with utmost secrecy. The only ones who know the truth are the upper echelons and Vongola's highest elite who participated in that battle...'
'And now he's telling middle schoolers.' Mai muttered wryly.
'I told you kids because as successors, you now count among the higher echelon.' Reborn answered flatly to their disbelief while he sent mail using his phone.
'Xanxus was stopped there eight years ago.' Timoteo continued. 'Since then, he's been asleep while his hatred and grudge grew to frightening proportions...GUHAA!' he coughed up blood.
'Reborn, what happens if flames are drained off the elderly at a fast flowing rate to power up a machine?!' Mai asked Reborn who looked on in anger.
'Organ failure and breakdown. It won't matter how old or young you are, that's what happens.'
The teenagers gasped in shock while gaping at him, and at Timoteo.
'I already called Dino to send doctors over for the ninth while we were talking.' said Reborn. 'They'll hurry up, given the situation.' he said grimly.
'Tsunayoshi...I heard many things about you from Reborn...about your school and your friends...the girl you like...you are a child whose heart is mismatched for a mafia boss.' said Timoteo with a sad smile. 'I also know that up till now, you never went into a fight willingly...' he said as he reached for Tsuna's forehead with his finger, 'And how these lines would show in a frowning brow with fists clenched as if praying...and all that is why I chose you to be my heir.' his finger lit up with his flames.
Reborn watched in silence as he wondered what the ninth did that for as he succumbed to exhaustion.
'This is unacceptable...' Mai shook, her head bowed her fringes concealing her anger. 'For his guardians to allow this to their Sky...they have a lot to answer for. He's still alive but terribly weak...and fading if the doctors don't get here soon.'
'Before you explode in fury, we better hear their side first as to indeed, why did they allow this, Mai.' Reborn told her. 'Before we heap judgment.' soon, Dino came with a team of his famiglia's doctors to get the ninth to treatment with Mai's warnings. 'We better return outside to see how Hibari is doing.'
They watched that Hibari is still a maniac, enjoying himself, causing the boys who knew him well to face-fault.
'...he looks like he's having fun...' Chrome commented.
'...He's just an idiot who's into getting off in the heat of battle.' Mai snorted.
'An idiot indeed but he's our idiot.' Reborn deadpanned. "And as the Cloud, he's getting stronger the more he fights, due to the propagation power of his flames." he thought.
Propagation.
Most flame users only literally follow that one word of their flame's abilities.
But Hibari is using the true power of Propagation and this is why Vongola's Cloud Users are feared. The truth is passed on from predecessor to successor but Hibari is unwittingly exercising it. If Hibari trained with the Varia in a week, he would actually gain a lot just by fighting them. The fearsome power of propagation lay in experience and knowledge. Not special moves unlike other flames.
The Cervello finally put a stop as they both went against the rules, and declared the final battle to be between the bosses tomorrow.
xxx
'Tsuna, are you ready for fighting that guy?' Yamamoto asked the smallest boy worriedly.
'I admit I'm nervous but I have to...a lot is at stake.' said Tsuna. 'If I lose...everything that happened so far will be made worthless. I have that dreadful feeling...oniisan...Mai...Gokudera-kun...Yamamoto-kun...Chrome and Hibari-san...if I lose, all that will be for nothing. What if, if I lose, its not just the Sky Rings, but YOUR rings are compromised too?' he croaked out. 'It might be...the final trap. Its why Xanxus didn't care about the results of his subordinates other than shooting them.' the other guardians stiffened. 'First the ninth and this could be...'
'Given how the Cervello work right now, that could be the scenario we're in for, and he's hoping for.' said Reborn. He is also agreeing with Tsuna's feelings since training with his flames fully awakened his intuition. 'The Varia losing would no longer matter as long as Xanxus wins if you lose.'
'...'
'For now, no training tomorrow. You need to be in top shape.' Reborn told him. 'Go to school as usual.'
xxx
School the next day...
Mai wasn't in school.
'Mai-san didn't go to school today.' Yamamoto remarked. Usually, she would never skip school and treat them to lunch. Due to that, it was a battle for food sold in the cafeteria.
'She didn't.' said Tsuna. 'She said she'll take Chrome shopping and she told me that her parents signed her off as dead so she couldn't go to school...so she asked me to ask Reborn if files for Chrome would be forged so she could. Mai-san is absolutely livid that if she sees the parents, we may have to restrain her.' he said weakly.
'Mai would empathize...she also came from a shitty family.' Gokudera sighed. 'In her case its relatives. She'll help Chrome.'