BATTLE OF THE SUCCESSORS – ALL ALONG
The Sky Battlefield
Despite his poor condition and their previous opposition Tsuna limped over to Dokuro and hugged her tightly, the two finally embracing again as the sun set over the island.
"Dokuro, I promise I will lay down my life to protect her" Tsuna declares sincerely. Dokuro has become the most important person in his life, looking after her loved ones is a must in his eyes.
"Boss, forgive me" she asks.
"There is nothing to be forgiven" says Tsuna as he looks over Dokuro's shoulder to see a gathering of dying will flame.
With the final part of his strength Bana unleashed one final burning axle towards the embracing couple. After finally reuniting with her, Tsuna wasn't going to let Dokuro die. Using the last part of his strength the chestnut haired man swung his lover around his body, positioning himself between her and the blast.
That wasn't what caused people to cry out in shock though, what caused that was the man who positioned himself in the way of Tsuna, Rokudo Mukuro. Taking the burning ball of heat Mukuro held firmly against the blast, dissipating it before falling backwards onto the floor.
"LORD MUKURO" screams Dokuro as she runs over to her saviour.
"Mukuro" exclaim Ken and Chikusa as they join Dokuro in tending to their leader.
"Lord Mukuro, why?" asks Dokuro through newly rejuvenated tears.
"Chrome, from now on you are released from your bond to me" declares Mukuro as he finally regains control of his voice.
"But why" Dokuro reiterates, "Why did you do that".
Mukuro smiles his creepy smile, a smile he has become famous for in the underworld, "We still need Sawada Tsunayoshi at full power, you've become part of his power now".
"Therefore" he continues as he raises his hand to cover Dokuro's eye. "I'm giving my powers to you" he says as a thin purple wisp stretches between his hand and her eye.
Shocked at the new power she has gained Dokuro quickly discards her focus on her eyes. "Lord Mukuro, you can't die" she says, recalling all the memories she shares with the man, all the good times and bad they have had together. "Not after everything you've done for me".
Mukuro maintains his smile and opens his mouth to speak again. No speech comes from his mouth though and he seems to make some adjustment to his position as he grunts in pain.
"Tsunayoshi, come here" Mukuro manages to whisper.
"Tsuna" Dokuro gestures to her partner to come over.
Tsuna approaches his former friend and leans in close so that the two of them can talk. These might be Mukuro's last words, it's vital that he hears them. Listening to any dying requests Mukuro has is a point of honour for Tsuna, this man was an ally for a long time after all.
With a snicker Mukuro starts, "Would you believe me if I told you I was working on behalf of the family all along".
"Of course" replies Tsuna, "You're one of my mist guardians".
Mukuro's smile grows slightly. He has always been so calculating, he has always had a plan but he knows this is it for him. It's finally good to have a moment where he can just sit back and enjoy being praised.
"I'm so glad… when I first saw Bana he told me about how he was a clone of Vongola Primo" begins Mukuro, "I realised quickly that he was designed to be evil… however something his creators didn't expect, the 1st spoke to his son through some kind of psychic link".
Tsuna listens intently to Mukuro's story, wondering exactly where Bana truly came from.
"Bana had potential for good in him but he was inherently evil, so I had to use a radical method to reform him. I killed people I will admit, I harvested their dying will flame to feed the evil within him. But it did more than that, it separated his good and evil halves, just like I planned. Now all you have to do is do away with the evil half" explains Mukuro.
Tsuna is amazed, Mukuro really went through all this trouble just to bring the good out in Bana. For the mist guardians who have always been treacherous and hard to deal with this is an incredibly forward thinking move. He was truly acting in the best interests of his family.
"Bana is a good man, a valuable ally in the fight yet to come, please look after him" begs Mukuro.
"I will" Tsuna quickly agrees as he frantically nods his head.
"And Ken and Chikusa" Mukuro adds.
"Them too" replies Tsuna, "I promise".
"And finally from now on you have to protect Chrome, your fiancée, I'm passing that job onto you".
"I won't let anyone hurt her" Tsuna says with steel in his voice.
"That's good, I can go peacefully now" Mukuro sighs.
"Mukuro…" Tsuna gets out before he is interrupted.
"Bana was made remember" says Mukuro, "the worst is still… yet to come".
With those final words Mukuro stopped breathing. The mist guardian had died. He could have died a traitor, a selfish fighter who only thought of himself. Condemned to being cursed throughout history, that fate was almost forced upon Mukuro but he fought it. He took a weapon designed for destruction and turned it into a powerful ally. He made an evil man good, that will always be his legacy.
"Lord Mukuro…" Dokuro says lightly before she closes the eyelids on her former master. "Thank you for everything".
A few minutes passed before Bana's good half returned, his blonde hair overcoming the darkness and his personality restoring to that of the good man Mukuro sought to protect.
"Oh my god" he starts, "Chrome, I'm so sorry".
Tsuna stumbles over to his new found friend, "We can sort that issue out another time. Right now you need to tell us how to expel your evil half".
Bana looks down, clearly he doesn't have a solution, though somebody makes a suggestion. "I know someone who is an expert on split personality, he can sort this out just using his powers" suggests Reborn.
A few hours pass while Basil flies off coast to find the helper in question. Bana sits awkwardly between a group of people with their weapons drawn on him. He understands why people are so suspicious of him, it's very reasonable however, he really does find this whole situation uncomfortable.
Suddenly Basil returns with a small man dressed in a lab coat, the arcobaleno Virgo.
"Why am I being forced to help the Vongola" Virgo immediately looks in the direction of Reborn and Colonello, his fellow arcobaleno.
Not wanting to waste time Tsuna threatens Virgo, "Virgo, if you don't destroy this man's evil half I will destroy all of your research".
"Oh I see, threats, typical, I thought you were supposed to be different" taunts Virgo.
"Of course, I'm still a member of the mafia" Tsuna reminds the scientist, "If it's to protect my friends I am still willing to force your cooperation. It has no detrimental effect on you after all".
Virgo simply glares at Tsuna. The young Vongola boss seeing that he is still unmoved makes him an offer, "I am willing to repay the favour if you ask it of me".
"Oh, I see a favour from the Vongola boss" Virgo mulls over the idea, "That's a rare commodity indeed".
After thinking for a moment Virgo comes to a decision, "Alright, I will eliminate the evil personality from this clone of Vongola 1st."
Bana smiles as he offers his gratitude, "Thank you Arcobaleno".
Virgo doesn't reciprocate Bana's politeness, instead he gathers dying will flames between his hands. The green flames of the thunder attribute gradually migrate to surround the wounded body of Bana before they clamp down on it in a vice like fashion.
Several seconds pass before a deep screaming voice can be heard. Bana's evil half had been eliminated.
"I will call you when I need you to repay my favour" Virgo says, already walking away from his patient.
Basil approaches his friend Enma upon finally recovering his breath. It was a long journey to bring Virgo to the island. "I can't help but feel this has all gone terribly".
"Yeah" agrees Enma, "With the loss of Mukuro, the loss of Byakuran, this hasn't been a beneficial encounter" concludes the Shimon family boss.
Tsuna however decides to adopt a more positive attitude. "Come on everyone, we're all going home".
The 9th smiles having finally recovered from his former injuries. He looks at Tsuna comfortable with the fact this man will succeed him.
"Well said" he praises, "Vongola 10th".