Chapter 4: Retrieval

Tuesday, 8th August 2017

Abandoned Amusement Park Collapsed

CASONE, FLORENCE ― Yesterday an explosion occurred in Kokuyo Fun Land, an amusement park on the outskirts of the city. Yesterday, at roughly 1 pm, calls were made to the police as a loud explosion was heard. Nearly an hour later, the police received calls that the large Ferris Wheel located within the amusement park collapsed as more detonations were heard.

No casualties are reported or expected; the amusement park is largely abandoned. While authorities were vague on the nature of the incident, it is clear that the explosions were not expected, given that several police cars were seen in the area.

Kokuyo Funland was set up in 1993 by a wealthy Japanese businessman, which, since his death in 1998, has been left unattended to and closed off from visitors. Kokuyo Fun Land was, in the past, a popular amusement park and one of the largest in Florence.

Demolitions in Florence are largely carried out by taking the building down manually. Demolition via blasting charges, which requires a permit for its use, thought building implosion is rarely used in the city. Failure to apply for the proper permits may result in a fine from the state, from a minimum of…

-Taken from Corriere della Sera, the Italian daily newspaper

The flimsy door easily gave way under his boot, his dynamite close to the end of his cigarette, ready to be lit in a split second. Gokdera paused, frowned and squinted at the company inside the cramped quarters of the female toilet.

So one of the hostages was special; this was to be expected. Having been a child of the mafia for most of his life, he understood that while the mafia tried to keep civilians out of their business, if they were involved, they wouldn't exactly break bones trying to save them either. But the retrieval of hostages was ranked as higher priority than securing the convicts; that triggered warning bells.

He wasn't given specifics, he wondered if anyone was, but he was a bit miffed to find that the coordinates led the ladies room. Mouth thinning, he had marched over anyway, careful to be quick and remain relatively hidden.

There seemed to be no hostilities to engage, despite Candidate #027's warning. None of them matched the description of the convicts, although Mukuro was an illusionist, come to think of it, but he recognized one of them from the meeting for the recruitment test. His gaze passed over each of them, then her lowered his hand of dynamites to join them.

"So where's the kid? You're supposed to be protecting him, right?"

Both the frail looking woman with the eye patch and the man he knew as Lanchia, one of the strongest men in Northern Italy (which didn't mean much, in Gokudera's opinion, since the hardcore Families like Vongola tended to be concentrated in South Italy), turned to look at him with a steely glint in their eyes. Or eye, in the woman's case.

He knew that look. They were fully ready to take him out at a moment's notice. "I don't know any more than that," he told them calmly, even though he really just wanted to blow them up for doubting him. But control was a hard earned lesson he learnt; his temper was still explosive, but he knew how to boil it down now, redirect it better, even if it still got him into trouble now and then.

They relaxed slightly. A round of introductions went by and Gokudera found himself frowning at the end of the explanation.

"You," he pointed at Moichida, "are an idiot."

The man bristled, but didn't otherwise react. Gokudera took this as a good sign; the man was an idiot, but could at least follow orders.

He took out his phone and contemplated calling. Candidate #027 had given him orders. To be fair, they both knew that Gokudera could refuse, so they were more suggestions than orders.

Sorry, but you might have to act as bait for a bit; there is reason to believe the hostages are kept there and, even though I have been informed that two of them are trained bodyguards, the safety of their charge is considered to be of utmost importance.

At the very least, the guy was honest.

"Ciao?" The voice was accented with a soft 'oh' sound at the end. The accent was distinctly oriental, hesitant and calm all at once. It was clear and high, making Gokudera wonder how old he was. Gokudera entered the mafia early on, but he certainly wasn't the norm.

"The kid isn't here. The other two are though, including the idiot that got captured."

There was a quiet humming noise on the other end. Gokudera's brow quirked when the silence extended. "Uh," the other voice was definitely young, he was sure now. "So what do you suggest?"

Gokudera took a moment to consider this. To be honest, he wasn't usually trusted enough to make decisions on his own; it was only when shit hit the fan that he ever got to make decisions during missions that involved groups. While he was fairly sure the other person knew who he was, he had contacted Gokudera specifically after all, he wondered why on earth they would ask him for a suggested course of action. Sure he had over a decade of experience in the mafia, but he was infamous for his terrible temper.

Speakerphone. Lanchia and Chrome shot him grateful looks.

"I think we should draw the enemy out," Gokudera told them. "While I have no idea what they want the kid for, since they went through the trouble of kidnapping him, they probably don't want him hurt. The enemy doesn't seem likely to threaten to kill him either." Gokudera turned to Lanchia and Chrome for confirmation.

"Vongola and Mukuro both know that he is too useful to kill," Lanchia told them.

Gokudera nodded, satisfied. "In that case, drawing the enemy away from him seems like the best option. While they may not leave him on his own, we can at least split them up. And God knows where Hibari Kyouya is."

"I think Hibari Kyouya has been incapacitated," Candidate #027 voiced out thoughtfully. "He causes a lot of destruction when he fights and isn't the type to sit around and wait."

Chrome spoke up for the first time. "I'm not sure about that. Mukuro is an illusionist; something like containing a battle would be easy for him."

The information was left to stew for a while.

"I hope so; I'd hate to go up against someone who could defeat Hibari Kyouya."

The four of them in the toilet frowned at the phone. "You've met him?"

"Sort of; I don't think it really counts as meeting. In any case, I can confirm that some guy with a sling is on the top of the Ferris Wheel; I caught sight of him a while ago and he seems to be directing someone though his phone."

Lanchia and Chrome exchanged glances. "Birds," Lanchia supplied. "Mukuro is probably the only other person able to direct any of them and he is unlikely to expose himself like that."

"Sniper fire might get his down, but it's difficult to organize under these conditions and there aren't many places with good cover and vantage point."

"Another alternative is a waiting game," the voice on the line suggested. "I've identified the diner where they have been preparing their meals through the utility bills. It's the one on the east, just beside the Ferris Wheel." Gokudera raised a brow at the ingenuity of that. "We could ambush them."

"No," Gokudera dismissed. "Prolonging it might give them time to recover. Birds was injured right? Bet it was Hibari."

"Hibari entered the premises over five hours ago," Candidate #027 revealed. "His liaison lost contact with him half an hour after that. But it's apparently not unusual if he is in battle."

"One major distraction aimed primarily at Birds and his minions, while the rest of us spilt up to search likely areas, getting the kid out as the main priority," Gokudera decided. He thought of the landscape in his head. "Roller-coaster, cinema, adventure ride…"

Chrome piped up. "And the diner itself."

"I'll get the Ferris Wheel," Gokudera reasoned. "Probably the reason you called me in the first place."

The voice sounded slightly abashed. "Your fighting style is kind of loud, so I thought…"

Gokudera snorted dismissively. "It's fine. It's true, in any case." He eyed the three in front of him contemplatively. "I'm not sure how well the three of you feel though."

Lanchia immediately narrowed his eyes, nearly growling out his duty to protect the child to the end. Chrome did the same less aggressively, though Moichida noticeably did not. In any case, the gash on his arm was hastily bandaged and didn't look too good. "Then it is just the three of us. Twenty-seven-"

"Tsuna," the voice corrected. "I already know who all of you are."

"Are you sure we should split up?" Chrome asked. "Mukuro is strong and we don't know if he has reinforcements."

"I think he has the highest chance of being in the cinema," the voice- no, Tsuna- told them. "The roller coaster area is too small. While the adventure ride requires us to go down the entire path watching our backs in the dark, it is too easy to be holed in. The diner would be second on my list."

Lanchia nodded. "The Smokin' Bomb will take on the Ferris Wheel, Moichida shall retreat to get medical attention and the rest of us shall go to the back of the diner to gather, check it out, then strike the cinema. But the distraction-"

"I know someone I can call," Gokudera cut in brusquely.

There was silence.

"Let's go then."

Gokudera ducked out of the toilet first. They decided that, if he was going to provide a distraction, he might as well do it all the way. He was careful to watch the figure on the top of the Ferris Wheel and duck out of sight.

Dynamite dislodged itself from his clothing and he began to place it systematically; simultaneously calculating the blast radius and architectural strength of the Ferris Wheel's support while checking his surroundings for others. It was difficult and he was fairly sure Birds had just seen him and called for backup.

Still, he smirked, it was a little too late for it now. He quickly ran for it as he pressed the button, hoping to God that Ryohei would stay where Gokudera had texted him to stay rather than foolishly try to help. The sound of dynamite was deafening and the crash of the Ferris Wheel against the ground was thunderous.

The blast was carefully orchestrated such that the Ferris Wheel fell away towards the flimsy fence that bordered the place, to draw attention away from the cinema and to allow others to come in from the ruined fence. Gokudera steeled himself as he caught sight of one of the twins.

It was on.

Tsuna wasn't entirely sure about this plan. It was sketchy at best and there was no back-up. To be honest though, he didn't see what else they could do. There was too little information, but retrieving the information put them in a position to do something about the situation too. It was frustrating and Tsuna hated that he had suggested for someone to go out to what was possibly their death based on a hunch.

He rolled out of his hiding spot at the first explosion.

While Tsuna wished he could say he remained calm and composed and followed the plan, he was honestly quite stunned by the amount of destruction going on. The giant, rusting wheel crashing in the ground was honestly nothing like Tsuna had ever seen before.

It groaned and creaked, crashing onto the ground to raise dust and smoke. Tsuna wondered if this was what his life was going to be like from now on; watching disasters happen, helpless to do anything to stop its path. After all, what could one person do in the force that was the universe? He would simply be the collateral damage of the things that greater men than himself were going to do…

Snapping out of his daze, he quickly ran through the backdoor of the diner, his gun at the ready. He found himself staring down the barrel of a similar gun.

Tsuna gulped. Confrontational fights were not really his thing.

The man on the other end of the gun was tall, built and terrifying. But the frown he had on his face was more confused than angry. Tsuna felt his brow furrow at the lack of adrenaline he felt in his veins. In fact, he felt fairly calm in a way that was different from any time in battle. He observed the man carefully. Dark hair, dark skin, with a sharp look about him. And behind him was a girl on the cusp of womanhood, with dark hair and a medical patch over one eye…

"Lanchia?"

Both of them relaxed at the word.

"Tsuna, then?"

They nodded to each other, then quickly began moving. The diner was obviously empty so they quickly took the front exit, which led directly to the cinema. Another devastating explosion was heard and Tsuna noted that Lanchia and Chrome were too well trained to look up; something that Tsuna couldn't avoid.

The cinema wasn't large, with a huge neon sign and was completely windowless. They went in through the exit that led through a gift shop, one that was dark and eerily empty. There wasn't any merchandise, but the walls were plastered with posters of outdated characters and the Kokuyo Fun Land logo.

Lanchia went first, Chrome right behind him and Tsuna covering their backs.

Tsuna couldn't deny being nervous. Not that he was never out in the field before, but never in such a high-risk or potentially important position.

It wasn't so dark that he couldn't see in front of him, but dark enough that he could only see the outlines of objects and not the particular. The shadows seemed to jump at him, in the same way he once thought the darkness under the bed jumped at him when he was alone. There was no noise to guide him of the whereabouts of the enemy and it made him feel intensely vulnerable. He wondered if Lanchia or Chrome had better luck at seeing things in the dark.

"Kufufu," the odd laughter was eerie and creepy and Tsuna couldn't help but wonder if all psychopaths had that sort of laughter. "It seems two little lambs have found their way into the lair of the wolf."

Tsuna immediately slunk further back; he knew he was the most silent of the three, but how likely was it that this man would overlook him? Chrome slunk back along with him, though whether to keep out of sight or to cover him he wasn't sure. Lanchia, on the other hand, took a step forward.

"Don't bother. I am an illusionist and of a much higher caliber than you, girl."

It was Tsuna he overlooked then. Though he personally wasn't sure if it was a good thing. Sure, he was more stealthy and less experienced in combat, but an illusionist, he knew, worked in ways that benefited from stealth.

A couple decades ago, society often referred to some people as pyrokinetics, people with the ability to produce a strange sort of fire at will. Such people were generally involved in high-risk jobs that involved combat and the multi-colored fire was said to a physical manifestation of a temporarily enhanced physical and mental state.

Then breakthrough research had come about. This fire was proven to be able to change the state of reality, apparently through force of will alone. While this was highly-confidential government research, rumor had it that absolutely anyone, if in the correct frame of mind and given sufficient training, could light that fire. Milliefiore's top echelons were said to be able to do so, but the information Tsuna received from Uni also told him that the mafia, particularly Vongola, had been able to effectively harness those flames at least fifty years ago.

Illusions were one of the byproducts of such flames.

The only warning that Tsuna had that a fight was going to break out was the entirely out-of-place mist that began to cover the area, a mist that caused alarms to ring in his head. He tackled Chrome to the ground as Lanchia stalked forward, all three barely avoiding the vines that short out from behind the fugitive.

Tsuna rolled to his feet hastily, making sure to keep to the shadows. Hostage first, he reminded himself. He wasn't equipped to fight Rokudo Mukuro, and he was in recon. Now that Ken and Chisuka were incapacitated and while Bird's gang was distracted, he was fairly sure Mukuro was guarding the hostage. It troubled him that Hibari Kyouya was nowhere in sight, given that, in the best case scenario, he was dealing with Mukuro, but it was also within expectations.

Chrome gave him a discreet nod and Tsuna carefully took several steps back. It was only when he was sure any movement of his wouldn't be caught by Mukuro that he bolted off quietly.

Side exit, side exit, Tsuna chanted to himself. While technically a cinema, the building was also used to host live performances, like magic shows and circus acts. Thus, in order to facilitate the more deceptive and exotic of such performances, a multitude of side exits and corridors were created to allow performers to move from one end of the building to the other unseen. The irony of the situation was not lost on Tsuna; he was using the tools of the fakes to escape from a real magician…

Tsuna abruptly skidded to a halt. Was the backstage the most likely place? Other than that, there were only dressing rooms, and there was a large number of them in the gargantuan, maze like building. His thoughts drifted, if I were Mukuro…

Backstage would enable him to keep a closer eye on the captives. If he really did view them as disposable hostages, he would put them backstage. It may be easier for the rescuers to get to them, but that process would also make it easier for Mukuro to kill them. It was very likely, however, that such a scenario would kill the hostages by accident too.

Dressing rooms were further removed and it would be more difficult and time consuming to get to the hostages that way. But the hostages would also be further removed from the action and harder to keep an eye on. Mukuro did strike Tsuna as the kind of person that was completely sure of their own power, so maybe that ego would let him put the hostages in the dressing room? Decisions, decisions.

Sounds of destruction echoed through the building from outside. Tsuna wondered if Gokudera was doing well against his enemies; Birds was injured to be sure, but those pet birds of his could get in the way of bomb trajectory-

"The green trails of Namimori…" Tsuna froze. There was literally only one person in the world who would sing that song outside of Namimori.

Plastering himself against the paper thin walls, Tsuna carefully sought the gage the direction of the sound. But how to break down the walls? His gun was too likely to kill someone, but explosive would be a little difficult to gage if he didn't know where exactly in the room the hostages were. While Tsuna didn't doubt Hibari's ability to survive, the boy…

Tsuna knocked the wall contemplatively, trying to figure out its thickness when a voice abruptly cut through the air.

"If you are going to break me out, then hurry up and do it already."

While Tsuna couldn't help his automatic cringe, he grinned a little too. The cringe was an instinctive response of anyone who had stayed in Namimori long enough to see or hear of Hibari Kyouya. While that voice belonged to the scariest person he had ever the misfortune of knowing, Hibari was also on his side. Kind of.

Tsuna wasn't sure if Hibari would ever belong to any side but his own.

"Are you alone? Keep away from the wall please." A grunt of affirmation was all Tsuna needed to begin placing the C4 explosive he had stashed. Retreating a comfortable distance and finding a conveniently placed table to tilt on its side and hide behind, Tsuna triggered the explosive, wondering if letting out Hibari Kyouya, under any circumstance, was a wise thing to do.

Hibari held his breath to keep from breathing in the plaster in the air and watched a small figure emerge from the chaos, coughing uncontrollably. The chains around his body and the shackles on his wrists and ankles kept him from moving, but he squinted to get a clearer glimpse of the person who broke down the wall. (Not to retrieve him or rescue him, because he was Hibari Kyouya, damn it, and-)

"Sawada Tsunayoshi?" Disbelief and confusion mingled in his tone. The small herbivore in question blinked at him, shock and bewilderment and just a little bit of horror.

It was a common reaction, to be sure, although the horror was usually much more pronounced. Hibari didn't know why; as Head Prefect, he obviously needed to know the name and face of every person attending Namimori Middle. How else would he deal crowding herbivores detention when he was busy beating someone down with his tonfa?

It wasn't altogether unexpected that Hibari Kyouya would join organized crime. Or collaborate with them, as was presently the case. But it was a surprise that Sawada Tsunayoshi would.

Hibari remembered him well, mainly because the thing had been the victim of many violent acts of aggression that Hibari had put a stop to. With, naturally, a more violent act of aggression. He was always cowering the corner, whimpering softly and because the sight irritated him, Hibari often gave him a whack as well.

Towards the end of his high school career, Sawada Tsunayoshi was still beat up on a regular basis, but it was with a resigned, tolerant sort of manner, with fewer tears and less noise, so Hibari hadn't bothered with him as much. Hibari didn't see Sawada Tsunayoshi graduate because he had left Japan almost half a year before it occurred, but he was fairly sure, thanks to Kusakabe's updates, that the thing was not involved in anything drastic in Namimori.

Which meant that the possibilities leading to why the thing was here now were limited. Recruitment was a definite possibility, but Sawada Tsunayoshi was unimpressive and thus unlikely to have been scouted from all the way across the world. His actively putting himself out in the criminal underworld seemed less likely.

There was law enforcement as well, but given that he was using explosives and the fact that he was in the base of a criminal of the underworld, it was improbable. He hadn't shown any inclination towards either crime or law enforcement either; anyone who was would have been reviewed as possible recruits as the Disciplinary Committee. Curious…

"Uh, hello…"

Hibari wrinkled his nose in distaste. "Use Japanese, not that God forsaken language these cretins use." In any case, Sawada Tsunayoshi's accent was worse than his own.

The boy hurriedly agreed, switching to his native tongue quickly. Sawada Tsunayoshi approached Hibari as one might approach a rabid guard dog, a reaction that Hibari wondered if he ought to be offended by. He inspected Hibari's restraints carefully.

Hibari raised a brow when the boy produced a lock picking set from his back pocket.

Tsuna doggedly kept himself from meeting Hibari's eye, working at the lock. Hibari was always unpredictable, but Tsuna knew for a fact that he was very smart. His cover from Milliefiore… No, one thing at a time. Milliefiore was unlikely to be connected to him, even by someone who knew his past, so he should be alright for now. Probably.

The moment the lock clicked, Hibari smoothly slid to a standing position, only wavering slightly on his feet. Even then, he quickly recovered.

"Civilians should keep out of the way," Hibari told him dismissively.

Tsuna barely kept himself from bristling. He got that condescension a lot, from many, many people and he hated it. But he also knew what kind of people gave him that condescension, and knew how to handle those kinds of people.

So he calmly brushed off his pants as he stood up. "Every place here is dangerous, Hibari-sempai." A tense, tired smile accompanied his words. Establish common ground: both of them don't want him to be here. Being humble wouldn't be good because it would be taken as Tsuna proving him right, but any posturing wouldn't be believed either, so: "I entered the building with two others who I believe are in combat right now and have the layout of the building," Tsuna indicated his phone. Prove, tangibly, his usefulness.

Hibari looked at him, brows furrowing. There was a moment of silence, too long, and Tsuna knew he should fidget, like he wanted to, if he wanted to appear more harmless, but Hibari was such a wild card that it was difficult to know which would be better. Did he want to be taken seriously by this terrifying teen? Or man, but it was rather difficult to detach Hibari from the sixteen year old that hauled bullies off him and whacked him with the side of his hand instead of his tonfa, body language exuding exasperated frustration.

"… Are you not a civilian?"

Tsuna couldn't keep the confusion off his face even if he tried. "No?"

Hesitance and lack of a direct answer was always something to avoid with those people, but Hibari took it better than Tsuna expected. Then again, Tsuna had only ever heard Hibari give commands.

Hibari wasn't taking him to be an enemy, which was something, at least. But his eyes were narrowed in suspicion and his body was tense. Harmless and non-threatening it was then.

"Uh, Hibari-sempai," and the stutter wasn't even something he had to fake. "Do you want to call Kusakabe-sempai? He's your liaison, right?"

The expression Hibari gave him was probably, Tsuna mused, the Hibari equivalent of an eye-roll. Tsuna had a sneaking suspicion his own expression morphed into something similar to what Nana would give him when she was upset with his grades but didn't want to say so out loud.

"If you aren't a civilian," Hibari drawled, ignoring Tsuna's reaction," what are you?"

Tsuna hesitated a moment, then responded with: " A candidate for the Allied Families recruitment test."

Hibari regarded him curiously for a moment, then dismissively. Tsuna internally breathed a sigh of relief. He was used to dismissive. He could handle dismissive.

"Stay behind me, don't draw attention and be quiet. If it is dangerous, run." Tsuna nodded obediently, thoughts running through his head quickly. It wasn't entirely expected. Hibari would want him out of the way, but then it would be better for them to split up. Hibari didn't even seem remotely interested in information or assistance, which made his commands a little odd though.

Still, Tsuna wouldn't question it right now. Hibari was intelligent and way more experienced in the underworld than Tsuna was. The hostage though…

When Tsuna brought it up, Hibari merely grunted. Exasperated, he was about to suggest they split up instead (for there was no reasoning with such a person to help), when Hibari pointed to one corner of the room.

"Is that him?"

Tsuna turned. And stared. And stared some more. Clearly he needed to refine his observational skills if he completely missed the main target of the entire operation lying in the same room as him. Tsuna's gawking aside, he worriedly noted that the child was unconscious and deathly pale. Soft brown hair, bags under his eyes and delicate limbs; Tsuna was stricken by how young he was.

He hurried over, checking his pulse, breathing, for head injuries…

"Hibari! Hibari!" The chirping noise continued, and Tsuna could feel Hibari's impatience grow. It was a subtle skill that anyone who wanted to last in Namimori Middle School had to pick up quickly. He hastily slung the child over his shoulder.

Hibari's eyes were narrowed and Tsuna wondered if he should give in to his urge to shuffle his feet and apologize.

Instead, Hibari turned away first, the fluffy yellow bird an incongruous accessory on his shoulder.

"Let's go."

Sorry for the long wait. This arc, which I refer to in my head as the 'Recruitment Exam Arc' should end in the next two chapters.