A/N: Been super stressed lately and haven't had much free time. I apologize if it's reflected in my writing. I can't see Shizuka throwing in the towel but I do see the match as a possible growing experience. As always, I hope you all enjoy and feel free to leave a review!
Easily Distracted
With all the extreme arenas for the other ring battles, everyone was wondering what the Cervello had cooked up for the Mist battle. Would it be an entire floor with traps like the Storm battle? A changing of the environment like the Rain battle? Shizuka didn't seem to be bothered either way.
"How are you not worried about this?" Tsuna asks, baffled. Shizuka gestured to a corner where several members of Baku were monitoring the teens. "I have a feeling that if the Varia were up to something that Masahiro and his men would be out for blood. You keep forgetting that one of my guardians is yakuza and is familiar with such underhanded tactics." She says bluntly.
Tsuna sweat dropped. She had infuriated the Varia Storm and Mist, so extra protection was just common sense at this point. "Still, you're going up against one of the world's strongest. Promise you'll back out if the battle becomes too dangerous?"
Shizuka looked ready to retort, instead she just sighed. "I know that we have a lead on the Varia but if I give up it'll put a larger target on my back. It's not a fight to the death, just a battle of wits to see who can steal a ring half first." Then Shizuka grinned. "Besides, I asked Chrome to help me with something earlier this week."
Well that doesn't sound ominous. Tsuna thought.
"Just focus on training today. And tell everyone they can have a break from being the cheering section tonight. I asked my guardians to be there." Shizuka says.
Tsuna paused. "Are you sure?" He asks, Shizuka nodded. "No need for anyone to lose sleep over my match."
XoXoXoXoXo
When Shizuka arrived at the school, all of her guardians were with her. She was holding on to a visibly irritated Verde, he was not thrilled to be dragged out of his research lab. Keimen didn't accompany him either, the traitor. And Natsumi was a recognizable face to anyone familiar with Vongola, the red head gave the assassins a wary look.
"Can't really say I'm surprised you guys are up to something. Just that it took this long." Natsumi states.
"Where's your brother trash?" Xanxus demands, his guardians looked stunned at the revelation.
Shizuka rolled her eyes. "Just sleeping, he needs a break from training. We were just civilians before the other heirs croaked. And Iemitsu kept our whole family in the dark so we decided not to let him know I existed." Honestly, she thought he would have connected the dots when he saw how similar she looked to Tsuna.
Violet, on the other hand, watched the exchange with mixed feelings. The infighting between heirs were known to be violent affairs but the plan Xanxus had was heartless. How a son could so something so horrific to his own father, then place the blame on a civilian for an excuse to kill him, was stomach churning.
Shizuka turned her attention to the Sun with an unreadable expression. "You here as a healer for my fight too Sunshine?"
Violet blushed, every night she was singled out by the Sky. It felt nice to be recognized, even if it was in opposition to the Cervello rules to be uniform and not stand out. Violet nodded.
"Hope you don't scare easily then." Shizuka says with a grin.
XoXoXoXoXo
The Mist arena was lackluster compared to the other matches. And that was putting it lightly. "A fifteen minute match in the gym?! Where is your sadistic creativity from the earlier matches?" Shizuka demands.
Natsumi pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed. "Shizuka, please don't antagonize the Cervello and be grateful you don't have any life threatening obstacles."
It went unsaid that the organization didn't bother making an uneven playing field since Natsumi was positive that "Mammon" was the Arcobalenco Viper. The glare from Masahiro promised a long and painful death if they tried anything suspicious.
Belphangor snickered. "And what would you have in mind?"
"Having an entire floor to play in for one. Tossing in neutral Mist users making illusions to fool both competitors. Oxygen depri-" Daichi covered her mouth, much to the relief of her guardians.
"We get it." He states. Shizuka furrowed her brow in annoyance. Other than pranks, it wasn't often that she got to flaunt her creativity. Tsuna didn't approve of sending bullies to a psych ward but he wasn't there at the moment.
Shamal sighed. Teenage Mists, especially those that are as petty and quick to anger as Shizuka, were nightmares to deal with.
"The Mist battle is ready to begin. Both Mists please step forward."
Shizuka reluctantly put Verde down, allowing the scientist to put a device on her head to monitor her brain waves. "Don't die." He states, Shizuka deadpanned. "I won't skew your data. And thanks for the concern." She says with sarcasm.
Shizuka channeled all of her Mist flames, their focal point on her forehead. Immediately shadowy tendrils launched themselves at Shizuka, the teen cut through the illusions easily with a glowing shinai. While she didn't need any sort of medium for her flames, Shamal had insisted that keeping that fact hidden would make her opponent drop their guard if she was disarmed. Verde had a laptop out, taking notes on the readings he received.
Their surroundings shimmered as white halls turned to a steel gray, tile floors stained with dry blood. Tendrils, this time made of flesh with hook like claws that appeared to originate from the walls. Violet's face had gone pale and she realized that she was gravitating over to Shizuka's guardians. Cervello were meant to be unbiased but was it wrong of her to side with the under dog in this case?
"She won't let any of her creations harm us." Daichi reassures the Sun, watching as both sides attempted to capture each other with increasingly complicated illusions. In addition to the creepy tendrils, several humanoid creatures with elongated limbs and blades where there should have been hands began to make themselves known. On Verde's monitor it showed a high level of brain activity as Shizuka juggled various illusions and coordinated her attacks.
XoXoXoXoXo
"The kid ain't half bad." Xanxus admitted. He was expecting a bunch of stupid kids that were in way over their heads that would be easy to kill off. While the girl wasn't as experienced fighting with Mist flames as Viper, she obviously had raw talent. It would be a shame to waste such potential.
"She switched up her tactics." Belphegor says with begrudging respect. The Mist had taken him and Mammon by surprise but it took skill to temporarily disable them. Shizuka was visibly getting more and more irritated with the constant movement of the much smaller Arcobalenco. She was constantly slashing at the tendrils and didn't notice a small frog observing her movements. A long tongue latched onto the half ring hanging from her neck and yanked it off.
"The winner of the Mist battle has been decided. The Varia Mist has completed the ring!" One of the Cervello announced. Shizuka froze, her hand going to her neck. The bloody environment and grotesque creatures disappeared. Shizuka threw down her shinai with a fierce scowl. "Damn it!"
Mammon floated over to the young Mist. "You distracted yourself with complicated illusions instead of your opponent." They stated, feeling generous enough to give some advice free of charge. Shizuka was still mentally kicking herself. She'd purposely made it so she wouldn't feel any pain during her fight. Unfortunately it meant that she didn't feel the ring being removed from her neck.
Bitter tears brought themselves up to the surface as Shizuka walked back to her guardians, her face downcast. She took the helmet off and handed it back to Verde without a word. Using her flames left her feeling exhausted and all she wanted to do was find a secluded place to cry.
A hand rested on her shoulder, breaking her out of her thoughts for a moment. Looking up, she noticed the concerned looks her guardians gave her. She forced herself to grin. "I'll be alright guys. Just bruised my ego a bit." She says with a weak chuckle.
Masahiro's eyes narrowed, not buying what she said for even a second. "I'll escort her home." He states, Natsumi looked ready to protest but hesitantly nodded in acceptance. It was jarring to see the usually mischievous teen so depressed.
XoXoXoXoXo
Shizuka followed Masahiro into the car, still silent. It wasn't until they had passed the Sawada house that she spoke up. "Masahiro-kun, we just passed the house." Shizuka says. "I figured that you wouldn't want to face your brother at the moment." He states, Shizuka fidgeted nervously in her seat. "Then where are we going?" She asks.
It was dark out but she could recognize the front yard of the Hibari estate. Meifeng was waiting outside and Shizuka opened the door before the car could completely stop. She stumbled and ran to the woman, finally letting her tears fall as the Hibari matriarch pulled her into a hug. "Tsuna-nii was counting on me to win the ring battle and I lost!" She sobbed. Meifeng rubbed circles on her back to soothe the distraught girl.
"It's alright, any defeat you walk away from you can learn from as well." Meifeng says, the tense muscles in Shizuka's shoulders starting to loosen. "I was so focused on trying to make a lasting impression that I lost sight of what the match was for." Shizuka sniffed.
"As a Mist, creativity is a wonderful thing. But you need to remain anchored in reality. Let those you care about be that anchor." Shizuka nodded, wiping her tears away. Meifeng smirked. "And look on the bright side, Kyoya will be fighting tomorrow night."
Shizuka just sighed in defeat. "I'll ask him to bite his opponent to death for me."