Chapter 75:
Cheat if You Have To.
'Hnn, My head feels heavy.' Tsunayoshi thinks. He opens his eyes- when had he even closed them?- and looks around. He was… He wasn't really sure actually. Somewhere new. All he could see was black with indigo mist. No walls, no ceiling, no objects, no people, nothing. Just where was he? And more importantly, how did he get… here…?
The last thing he remembered was promising the others that he'd be their friend for ever and ever. Mukuro had brought out his trident and that had set off some alarm bells in Tsunayoshi's head. It was one of those weird feelings that knew things he didn't, one of those pictures with people he knew more grown up. It was telling him not to get cut, that getting cut was really really bad. But this was Mukuro they were talking about. Tsunayoshi didn't think Mukuro would do anything to harm him, just look at how he cared for Chrome.
These feelings were often wrong anyway. And he trusted Mukuro.
But slowly, slowly, these pictures were tainted, blurred, in a vague purple fog. The pictures were never very clear to start with, but slowly it became that he couldn't see them at all. He couldn't figure out what these pictures were trying to tell him, even if the feelings told him they were important. And eventually, he couldn't see them anymore, almost as if a wall of purple glass was in between them. Nothing, not even the warning bells rang out anymore.
But there had been many times where these feelings had been wrong. Lots of times they made people out to be worse and scarier than they were. Sure there were lots of times that these feelings were right- especially when it came to dodging weapons and traps- but they weren't something he could trust in fully.
However, with complete trust in Mukuro instead, Tsunayoshi had stretched out his hand and gotten cut. He had promised to be their friend for eternity and he wasn't going to turn his back on that promise. Never. But then… But then! Mukuro had raised that funny gun to his head. Didn't he know how dangerous that was? Had Mukuro shot himself? Had he survived? Was Mukuro alright?
"Mukuro! Mukuro! Where are you? Are you okay?"
But there was no answer.
"Kufufufu, kufufufufufu, kufufufu~" Tsunayoshi laughs, sitting up in Chikusa's grip. A hand was over his right eye, fingers rubbing his temple.
"OOOIII! What the hell happened, byon?" Shouts Ken, standing in front of Tsunayoshi with his fists on his hips, a scowl on his face. "First Mukuro pulls out this gun, then shoots himself and then both of you fall to the ground? I demand to know what happened!" Then he thrusts a pointing hand in Chrome's direction. "And you made Chrome cry!" Which was a crime in his book.
Chrome tilts her head to the side for a moment, looking at Tsunayoshi weirdly. She looks between Tsunayoshi and Mukuro's body and then back again. She crawls over and sits in Tsunayoshi's lap- this makes it rather heavy for Chikusa, since Tsunayoshi has been on his lap, but with the weird situation, he wasn't going to complain. Tsunayoshi looks at Chrome, chocolate eye shining and a huge grin on his face. This wasn't uncommon for Tsunayoshi, he was hardly ever without a smile, but this smile… just wasn't right.
Placing her hands on the one covering Tsunayoshi's right eye, she tugs gently. "Mukuro?"
"What are you talking about silly girl, Mukuro is still over there." Growls Ken, pointing to Mukuro's unmoving body.
"Oya oya, I would rethink calling my precious Chrome stupid." Tsunayoshi says, voice slyer and meaner than usual.
"Ken, I really think-" Starts Chikusa in an quiet mumble.
"See, it's only Tsunayoshi pretending to be Mukuro. He's just joking with us." Ken announces, crossing his arms. He then walks over to where Mukuro was. "Hey, wake up byon. This is no time to be sleeping." He shakes Mukuro a few times, but the other doesn't make any movements or sounds. "Oooiii~" Ken protests, shaking harder and harder. Eventually he gets annoyed and slaps Mukuro around the face. "Wake up!"
"I would appreciate it if you didn't harm my body whilst I am not inside of it." Growls Tsunayoshi.
Ken looks over towards Tsunayoshi, a confused expression on his face. "Huh?"
"Mukuro." Chrome insists, tugging on that hand once more. Tsunayoshi obliges, dropping the hand over his right eye. He hears the other three gasp and looks up.
"What's wrong?" He asks, looking at the shocked expressions.
"Scary scars." Chrome whispers, pulling away slightly. She then holds her hands out before closing her eyes to concentrate. 'An illusion. A mirror. He can see what I can see.' When she opens her eyes again, the illusionary mirror is in her hands and Tsunayoshi is looking into it.
"Hmm, this is not good. I'll be found out immediately if anyone else sees this." Tsunayoshi grumbles, running a hand along the defacing tell-tale scars. He had never heard about this side effect to the bullet. Maybe that was why no one used it any more.
"Found out? So you really are Mukuro?" asks Ken, walking closer. He gets right up close, nose sniffing, before frowning, "But you still smell like Tsunayoshi."
"Of course I'm Mukuro. That bullet I shot was the Estraneo's Forbidden Possession Bullet. It allows me to take over Tsunayoshi's body. I need it for my plan. You've heard the stories, Tsunayoshi practically has the Arcobaleno wrapped around his little finger. They'll do anything he asks for. Add in a few tears and puppy expressions and they'll be putty in my hands, kufufufu. I'm going to get them to destroy the Estraneo once and for all. And from there on, who knows? Maybe even the whole of the Mafia!"
Ken and Chikusa look at Tsunayoshi with shining eyes. He could really do that? "Everyone here knows what evils the Estraneo are committing and not once have they ever tried to help us. The Mafia is a horrible place filled with horrible people. No one ever helped us, our own parents threw us away. The world is filled with nasty people. We should start again and only let nice people live in the world. Tsunayoshi is rather influential on the island. I can use the other people to create a better world before removing them afterwards." He passionately states, malice unhidden in his voice.
The child truly believed he could change the world. With his powers, the powers of Ken, Chikusa and Chrome, and of course, the influence and likeability of Tsunayoshi, he was sure that he could do it. It wasn't going to happen overnight, oh no, even he knew that, but eventually, one day, he'd make that dream come true.
"That sounds really nice." Chikusa agrees. "No one else would end up like us."
"Yeah! No more mean adults who hit us and tell us off. Only nice people who are kind and give us lots of sweets." Ken imagines.
"No more left alone." Chrome says, looking down and away. Mukuro would make it so that no one was unloved and thrown away, abandoned to die like she had been. If anyone could do it, it would be Mukuro. Tsunayoshi nods and hugs Chrome tightly.
"Exactly. But for my plan to work, we can't let the Arcobaleno know that I'm not Tsunayoshi. When the Professor comes back, pretend that I'm just sleeping, like I'm worn out from Mammon's recent lessons. Tell our Keepers that I've got a cold, they won't check on me that way." Tsunayoshi orders. "Ken help me move my body."
"Sure~" Ken agrees, bounding over before grabbing Mukuro's legs. Carefully the two boys lift Mukuro's body into the cell, right at the back in the shadows. "But are you sure you can be Tsunayoshi? You two are quite different."
"Haha, what are you talking about Ken?" Asks Tsunayoshi, smiling brightly whilst tilting his head. There was just the right about of energy and cuteness in his voice. All three had to blink at the sudden transformation. Wow, Mukuro was good. "It's all part of the really really cool bullet! It wouldn't be very good otherwise." Even the pout was just right. "Plus, I've watched Tsunayoshi lots and lots."
"But… the eye…" Reminds Chrome, shaking out of her shock first. Knowing that it was Mukuro acting like that was actually rather creepy.
"Huh? Oh that's easy. I just need an illusion for that. Luckily Viper's not around to notice it." Tsunayoshi waves a hand infront of his face and suddenly it looked like normal, even Mukuro's red eye was back to being chocolate brown.
The sound of footsteps interrupts the conversation. "Quick, you had better get back into the cells before the Keepers come to check on us." The other three nod, rushing to return to their cells and close the doors.
Tsunayoshi turns to face the door and grins a Mukuro-like smirk. "Now for the first step: To get the Arcobaleno to despise the Estraneo." He taps his trident against the floor as the door opens.
The Estraneo guard from earlier returns, looking a lot less nauseous than earlier. "Che, damn brat, why aren't you back in your cage?" He growls, annoyed. "Oi Pineapple brat, get moving already!" He stomps forwards a hand raised, ready to attack. The child doesn't move, instead grinning back up at him defiantly. Angered, the Estraneo member smacks the disobedient child, causing him to fall to the floor. He then takes a step closer before kicking the child in the stomach.
"AHHH! That hurts! Please, stop! OOOOWWW!"
Not ten seconds later, a killer aura fills the room. "What do you think you are doing?" asks a voice colder than ice. The subordinate freezes at the aura and the sound of the voice. His Family was filled with insane killers, but no one made him scared like this. Slowly he turns around, coming face to face with a territorial, protective scientist. But not just any scientist, one known as THE Mad Scientist, AND a member of the Arcobaleno. He wasn't going to make it out of here alive…
The subordinate's eyes widen as slowly sparks of electricity race along Verde's hair and clothes. "Ha-ha-h-ha, I was just d-disciplining one of our experiments. Y-you can't tell me what to d-do." He stutters, trying to put up a façade.
"Are you blind? That child is not one of your experiments." Verde growls, thoroughly annoyed. The subordinate looks confused and looks back down at the child he had been kicking. B-but it was a different one! It was Verde's pet project, not one of their experiments! But he was sure that it was experiment number 69 earlier.
Verde reaches forwards, not in the mood to play around and listen to excuses. Someone had harmed HIS experiment, that was more than enough reason for him. And to be honest, who was going to stop him? A bright flash of blue-white leaps from his fingers and into the subordinate. He jolts, muscles stiffening, before collapsing to the ground unconscious.
Tsunayoshi sniffs, tears running down his face, before he finally lets out a huge cry. "Waaahh! Verde I was so scared. I hadn't done anything wrong, promise!" He flings his hands around Verde's waist, crying into the man's lab coat.
The other three try not to look shocked: Mukuro could cry too? They had never seen him cry before. However, they had seen the exact same scene as before them, a long time ago. Tsunayoshi had cried like that when pleading Verde to save the four of them.
Verde picks the crying child up before storming out of the room.
"Oh my poor darling. Here, let Mamma Luce fix you right up!" Luce cries upon seeing Tsunayoshi and Verde return. She sits Tsunayoshi down on the kitchen table before handing him a glass of warm milk and some freshly baked cookies. "Really, the Estraneo take things too far sometimes. They shouldn't treat their children like this." She mumbles. "There we go, a plaster," she sings, smoothing the plaster over Tsunayoshi's cheek, "and a kiss," she then kisses the plaster, "To make it all better." She smiles at Tsunayoshi.
"Thank you, Luce." Tsunayoshi smiles back.
"Now how about we go and check what all the noise outside is?" Luce suggests. She picks him up and places him back on the floor before leading the way out of the kitchen. When they get into the living room, it's to find Fon restraining a squirming and shouting Skull.
"Let me go! The great Skull-sama is going to teach them a lesson!" Skull roars, trying to free himself from Fon's tight grip. All he needed was his trusty helmet and he'd be ready to wreak the Reaper's havoc on them!
"Skull, please calm down. I know that you are mad, we all are, but the damage isn't that bad. Look Tsunayoshi is fine." Fon calms, turning Skull to look at where Tsunayoshi was.
It was true that the others weren't happy either. Verde especially since it had happened when Tsunayoshi was under his care. The electronics around the house were randomly turning on and off and the lights were constantly dimming and brightening. Luce sighs, she'd have to calm Verde down before he blew a fuse.
Skull breaks free of Fon's grip before running over to Tsunayoshi and kneeling before the boy, running his hands over Tsunayoshi's arms to check that he was okay. "Oh Tsunayoshi, are you alright? Just say the word and I'll go over there and I'll tell them off for you!"
Tsunayoshi looks down at the floor, twisting his hands together. "You should go tell them off. But not for me, for the others. I don't like the way they are mean to Mukuro and Ken and Chikusa and especially Chrome! I know the others say that they are fine with it and that's just how the Estraneo are but it's really not fair! They get hit all the time and they're never allowed outside and… and… and no one loves them. I don't want them to stay like that. I want them to laugh and smile just like we all do!"
Mukuro wanted to shiver. Never had he thought he would say something as sappy as that. But he knew that this was how Tsunayoshi acted… so act like this he would.
"Hey, hey, calm down Tsunayoshi." Colonnello says, walking over to ruffle the boy's hair. "I know that you're sad about your friends, but we don't really get involved in the affairs of other Families. There's not a lot we can do."
"B-but-but…" Tsunayoshi says, bottom lip quivering. "Can't you do something Bermuda? You tell all the naughty people off."
"Indeed I could, if they had broken one of the rules. There are no rules in the Mafia against Human experimentation, it is done in the normal world too. There are no rules against slavery, imprisonment or the treatment of children." Bermuda explains, taking a sip of his tea. However he wasn't as calm as he looked, his quivering chains told more than he was letting on.
Tsunayoshi looked absolutely heartbroken upon hearing that.
"Look, brat, don't worry about it. You should believe in your friends more. They are all strong children, they'll survive, they've survived so far. With Viper teaching two of them, they'll soon become strong enough to protect themselves from the Estraneo." Lal explains, looking up from a map spread on the wall.
"Anyway, you had better hide those tears before Reborn comes home." Fon advises, handing over a tissue box. Tsunayoshi nods and take one before wiping his eyes. Skull then picks him up before sitting down on the sofa and placing Tsunayoshi on his lap.
"Alright then! I shall let them survive for today. But I'll send them all to the Reaper next time!" Skull declares before reaching for the television remote and finding something that he and Tsunayoshi could watch together.
Just as Skull finally finds a decent show, the television makes a clunking noise before turning off. No amount of button pushing will turn it on.
"Oh dear, I had better go sort Verde out," Sighs Luce, "It's the last episode of my favourite soap opera tonight and I absolutely can't miss it." The Arcobaleno nod, making a mental note to not be watching the TV at that time.
"Hey, lackey, move over. Lal is about to teach Tsunayoshi how to read a map. We don't need you interrupting." Colonnello says, making a flicking gesture.
"Hey, I was sat here first!" Skull says back, offended.
"I don't care, move." The soldier orders, giving Skull a harsh kick. The stuntman yelps before climbing over the sofa as quickly as possible.
"Fine. I was going to go and practice for the next gig anyway." He announces, even if it was obvious that he had had no such plans. The rest of the room sigh over the usual routine. But… there was one bit missing.
Everyone looks over to Tsunayoshi expectantly, a weird look in their eyes. By now, Tsunayoshi had usually told Colonnello off for hurting Skull. Yet he hadn't.
"Yay! A map! Can you show me where Viper and the Varia are going?" Tsunayoshi says instead, kicking his feet against the sofa.
That was… unusual. Maybe he was just worn out after what had happened at the Estraneo?
It was the end of the day, and Mukuro was worn out to say the least. He had had a dynamic lesson in map reading, involving a few arguments between the pair of soldiers, which were quite funny to watch. Then he'd had a martial arts lesson from Fon. It was no wonder that Tsunayoshi's body was in such tip top condition if he trained like that every day. He didn't know that Tsunayoshi could do all those things. Thankfully with his 4th Path, he could copy Tsunayoshi's abilities perfectly, which luckily covered the martial arts.
After that, Skull and he had been chased around the house by Luce, who seemed to have some sort of scary handbag on her, because they'd eaten the majority of the cake she had made earlier by themselves. Skull had kept on shouting out something about a bag and cosplay (whatever that was) and how flowers and leather didn't mix. He had been saved by Bermuda, who started playing a video game with him.
After that they'd had dinner, and he was quite surprised when Lal lifted him onto her lap with a sigh. "C'mon then, it's my turn tonight, right?" (Over the years, she had decided that it was less effort and wasted energy if she just went along with the whims of the brat. He'd sat on Colonnello for lunch earlier, which meant it was her turn next- according to Tsunayoshi, he sat on them one after another so they didn't get jealous…). He hadn't been expecting that at all. Plus everyone looked as if the sight was perfectly natural. He didn't think he'd ever laughed so much today- sure it was all part of his act, but one had to wonder how many of those laughs were genuine.
So now, here he was, in some pyjamas that made him look like a cow, lying next to Luce. She'd given him another glass of warm milk, apparently to make him sleep better after the awful day he'd had. But the strangest thing was, she was hugging him. Tightly. And he was positive that she had fallen asleep too. Was he supposed to sleep like this? He'd never been hugged before, except the ones Chrome gave him. It was… rather nice actually, Luce's general treatment of Tsunayoshi too.
Tsunayoshi yawns and closes his eyes, leaning his head against Luce's shoulder. 'So this is what a mother was like.' He wouldn't know, he'd never met his mother before. He'd never been part of a family before, except the one they had created between the four of them. This whole environment was so strange, rather alien. All of it was new to him, and he wasn't sure if he liked it. At least in the Estraneo he knew where he stood, knew how to react, how other people would react to him. But here… nothing made sense. These people were Mafioso, yet so very different from the people he wanted to destroy.
If this was what Tsunayoshi's everyday life was like, then he was one very lucky boy. Mukuro could only hope that maybe after he'd made the world anew, that the world became more like this house, even just a little bit.
Phantom Hitman 1412
First Published: 31 January 2013