Hello my dear readers, Nain Tarlow here, checking in.
Sorry for the extremely late chapter but I just got a little too much work on my hands and before I noticed the chapter was completed much later than I thought. Hopefully, the length will be a good way to apologize.
Not much action in this chapter but setting up the final of the Tsuna vs Todd conflict and then hopefully soon I will be able to reach the PSC part of the story, something I have wanted to do for a long time. Also good news, I thought of a way to include Mizore before the PSC 'arc' so expect her to appear regularly soon.
Reviews:
DPSS: I have no idea why the underlines, weren't there when I uploaded the new chapter. Thanks for pointing it out.
LightJakRises: Massino is the big bad, though not for the whole story, only for the first year. In the second year, they will have their hands full with fairy tale and a lot more.
ThePizzaMan: Oh, Tsuna will definitely have a few OP scenes of his but I try to keep it balanced altogether.
Thank you for all the support you have this story, hopefully, I can finish the next chapter this year.
Cover: The entire newspaper club is shown in military uniform, clearly preparing for a fight. Lambo excitedly waves around a rocket launcher, while Tsukune desperately tries to stop him. Yukari is at a table in the background, examining various explosives. Gin sat next to her, sleeping, his head on his machine gun. Tsuna is busy cleaning two handguns that look very similar to Xanxus' while Omote and Ura seem to argue at a table covered in various papers and a large map.
Chapter 13 On the verge of conflict
"Here are the items you requested. It was quite a lot of work to make it in such a small time frame but we made quite good work if I say so myself." a tall student with white hair than seemed to spike into the air and ended in green smirked at Tsuna as he handed him a small bag. He had red eyes and wore a white coat, he looked quite sinister."Though part of me had to wonder what do you need these specific items for on such short notice."
Tsuna could only smirk back as subtly changed his posture. It wasn't exactly threatening but he told him without words not to look into it too much.
"I get it, I get it. I better off not asking." the man who was the president of the chemistry club held up his hands in surrender, his smirk never leaving its place. "But don't forget to hold up your end of the bargain. Or you won't like the consequences ten billion percent.".
"Don't worry. The ad for your club will be in the coming edition of the newspaper as we agreed. I'm a man of my word." Tsuna promised as he bid the scientist farewell.
Looking at his watch he frowned as he saw that only ten minutes were left of lunch break. Quickly he began to speed up, he had a few more preparations to make before classes restarted.
While the situation was far from ideal, he wasn't without weapons of his own. These monsters wanted to keep him in a corner, threatening his friends, so he wouldn't step out of the line. His odds weren't the best, he knew next to nothing about his opponents and couldn't really predict their movements but the sane was true for them, any information they would have from the mafia would be outdated and next to useless.
He was prepared, as ready as he could be, yet Tsuna still let a frown appear on his face as he slowed down, lost in thought. He felt uncertain, not in the plan itself but the method he chose to execute it.
It wasn't right, leaving his friends in the dark and subtly manipulate them to take the steps required for his plan to work. It wasn't fair, not to Tsukune, who he had an obligation since he chose to take him under his tutelage, not to Moka and Yukari, and certainly not to Kurumu. They wouldn't have been in this whole debacle if he acted when he saw the first warning signs. But he was so full of himself, intent on keeping a distance between then, that he did nothing.
He should have acted as a true friend, he should have seen as friends, not underlings to be manipulated and ordered so he could reap the benefits. But that was what he did, that was what he planned to do once again.
His trust was already on shaky grounds with them, yet not even for a minute, did he consider simply being honest and asking for help. It was not how he did things, not how a mafia boss did things.
Tsuna abruptly stopped as the disappointed, sad gaze of a certain green-eyed vampire flashed in his mind, quickly followed a more hostile-looking red pair. It hurt, the thought that she, that they were going to be further disillusioned with him but he still chose to follow this path.
It was times like these that he missed the unwavering, soothing presence of his guardians. It was easier to tell right from wrong with them since most of the time whatever they wanted was wrong and everything else right. The unspoken trust between them, the camaraderie kept him on the right track.
Even though he didn't take the whole guardian thing seriously, he later understood just how much an effect their bond, their flames interacting and harmonizing had on each of them. Just as much as they calmed down somewhat and became less restless he became grounded and confident by the simple knowledge of not being alone.
But where once he felt that familiar bond, he could only feel an empty hole, an ache that never seemed to fade. He didn't know if it was because of the poison in his body, the loss of the hyper dying will, or simply his guardians going forward with their lives and leaving him, but he was sure of one thing. Being an empty sky was a painful, hollow existence.
Maybe it was time to realize that he was far more broken than he thought.
'If that is the Vongola, I would rather burn it down.' his younger self once proclaimed, vowing not to repeat the bloody past of his predecessors. Yet, despite those bold words, here he was, the very thing he swore not to become.
"I wonder, what would my younger self say if he saw me now?" he whispered as he started to elk once again, his decision made.
There was no way but forward, whatever happens, the die has been cast. He could only face the consequences, with his head held high.
-0-
'How dare he!' Kurunu fumed to herself, angrily wiping away the tears from her eyes as she walked away from the newspaper club, her friends. She was angry beyond belief, it was one thing to blackmail and humiliate her, she probably had it coming for how she behaved during the start of the year but to take away her friends' work, the thing they put their time and passion into, it was unforgivable.
"Kurumu?" a voice called out öt her and she was surprised to find herself coming face to face with Tsuna who had a bag hanging over his shoulder now that she thought about it, the teen was absent when they arrived in the club room, finding all of their work disappear without a trace.
"Tsuna." she greeted him, not meeting his eyes. "The others are back in the club room and they could use the help since there is a lot of work and as we all know I am unreliable." she whispered the last part with shame, then tried to walk past him, not wanting to see the expression on his face.
She would be hard-pressed to put into words the relationship they had. While Tsukune was her destined one, and Moka was one time a love rival of a sort, she and Tsuna were more distant. Sure they argued a lot, and sort of teased the other at times but she felt there was a constant distance between them. They had their friends in common for the most part, they didn't interact with each other before prompted by the others, save for that one time where he comforted her when Tsukune confessed to Moka. That was why she was so surprised when he put a hand on her shoulder, stopping her in place.
In his eyes, she found an understanding look, something that greatly surprised her. There was no judgment there, no anger. From the usually cold, aloof Tsuna it meant a lot, she knew.
"I don't know what situation you are in and I'm not gonna pry." he gave her a sarcastic smile, pointing to his bag."I mean I have my own issues right now, so I couldn't even help you but I tell you this. When you think you have no hope, no strength think very hard about what's important to you. Think of them, about the resolution to stay alive no matter what. When you reach a point that it's do or die, when you have your back to the wall, don't falter. Don't hesitate but grasp the power lying inside you, that dormant power that awaits the opportunity to be used. You are you Kurumu, not me not Moka, not even Tsukune. You don't have to be like us your power lies elsewhere. When the time comes, reach down within, shout out your resolution and show them your power. "he told her looking deep into her eyes. Kurumu almost laughed, hearing something so cheesy coming from him but the serious look in his eyes told her he meant every word
"Wh-What? "she stuttered out dumbly. She had no idea where it came from, nor how did he know that she was in some kind of trouble and she planned to fight to get back her and her friends' work. But it was kind of touching instead of telling her to leave it to others, that she was not good enough by herself, a thought that did go through her head at one point, he seemed to believe in her. It felt surreal.
"You heard me." touching moment over, Tsuna stepped away from her, turning to the directory of the clubroom, waving at her one last time."Good luck, Kurumu."
"Thanks, I guess." she murmured in confusion to his retreating back. For a moment she just stood still, bewildered by what happened before she shook her head and turned around. She had a certain creepy pervert photographer to hunt down.
-0-
As he stepped into the newspaper club's room the smile that Tsuna had plastered on his face fell away, replaced by a frown as he looked around, not liking the picture in front of him, especially when taking into account his talk with Kurumu.
Everyone was working furiously, almost falling over each other in a hurry, including even Gin and Lambo. Yukari was typing into her small laptop so fast that he could hardly see her fingers, Tsukune and Moka were writing and compiling various papers and for once it didn't seem like their werewolf president had to be blackmailed to join.
It looked very similar to what they did yesterday with one stark difference. Back then, the atmosphere was light, friendly, and cozy. Now it was tinged with nervousness and a sense of despair.
"What's going on?" he asked softly, not to disturb or scare them but loud enough to be heard anyway, his eyes roaming around, trying to find what caused the change. At first glance, nothing save for the members themselves looked off, which didn't make him feel relieved at all.
Tsukune's head shot up at his voice, a hopeful expression on his face which quickly disappeared as he only saw the brown-haired teen.
"Ah, Tsuna! It's just you?" he asked uncertainly while looking behind him as if hoping someone would pop up from behind him.
Moka also looked up giving him an uncertain wobbly smile, before turning back to her work. In the end, the explanation came from Gin who angrily gestured him to sit down.
"Sawada! You are late! Get to work, we are behind enough as it is, there is no time to dilly dally." he said, frowning. When Tsuna didn't get to work but walked closer to him, silently demanding an explanation, he let out a tired sigh as he ran a hand through his hand, frowning at his underclassmen."During the night, someone has stolen all of our finished work, leaving us with absolutely nothing on the last day of our deadline. We have to work all night if we want to have at least most of it done again." he was visibly frustrated, with good reason. What they lost was the result of all the work they did in the ground in the last few weeks, even since the newspaper club started to work seriously.
"What!?" he asked, for a moment caught completely off guard. Then he narrowed his eyes, trying to put together the pieces and not liking what he was seeing."Is that why Kurumu left all of a sudden?" he asked, though deep down he knew the answer already.
At first, he thought it was another move by Mei and her gang to coerce him into giving in to their demand but he quickly dismissed it. They already threatened his friends' lives, it simply wasn't needed. Not to mention, while he enjoyed and treasured the memories made in here, the newspaper by itself was simply not worth risking his, or others' life for it.
On the other hand, Kurumu was easier to manipulate, and this way just the kind of thing they would do so he could öt interfere and keep her away from their clutches. With Kurumu running off after whoever took the papers, she was outside his control, and at his enemies' mercy. It was a good tactic, using Kurumi's much more naive and impulsive mindset to their advantage.
Still, it worked well within the range of his plans, maybe making it easier for him to place the pieces into the correct place. As he thought this, he was once again hit by a wave of uncertainty, thinking about the moral implications of using his friends like that but again, he quashed it down, at this point he couldn't afford to make a mistake, there was no Reborn to correct him, to get him out of a tight spot, not anymore.
He was brought back from his thoughts by Moka as she angrily reacted to the mention of the Succubus.
"Kurumu was only here to be with Tsukune. Apparently, she wasn't our friend and she left at the first sign of trouble." she said but Tsuna could see her anger only served to hide her own hurt feelings. Not surprising, knowing her usual behavior.
Tsukune looked away with a frown and even Yukari lowered her head, hiding her face under the brim of her hat. While her relationship was not always peaceful with the succubus they were what could be called friends by some definition. Honestly, their friendship reminded him of Gokudera and Lambo sometimes.
On the other hand, Lambo only looked at him with a little confusion and worry. Tsuna may have refrained from telling him about everything, he understood enough of the situation to know that it was connected to whatever was going on with Kurumu. Still, neither could do anything, right now, not without sabotaging their plan.
With a sigh, Tsuna walked to the table the others were working on, patting Tsukune on the shoulder as he passed him, sitting down and grabbing the nearest paper.
"Wel, there is no use in crying about this. Let's just get to work." the black-haired teen was about to object when Tsuna met his eyes, silently telling him to let it go."After we are done with it, we will have time to talk about this but now it's more important."
Unsure, Tsukune nodded and returned to his work, the others following his example, none of them noticing the frown on Tsuna's face as he began to work silently, his mind going through a lot of different ideas and plans.
-0-
The large tree standing in the center of the school's country yard loomed over her as she walked toward it, her head bowed, her hair hiding her expression, shoulders drawn and tense.
She never liked, nor disliked this place before yesterday, despite it being a popular place among students, many standing their breaks in here, meeting up with their friends. She had her friends at the newspaper club, their shared lunches, and trouble they seem to regularly get into, and that was why now she could only look at the place with hatred in her soul. This place now reminded her of the creep who dared to blackmail her, to take away all of their hard work.
It was unforgivable.
Thankfully, the tree was a few minutes long walk away from the newspaper club's room so thanks to the walk there and Tsuna's words ranging in her head for some reason, she was able to at least calm down a little. She was no less furious than before but the hot rage cooled down, giving space to a colder, more vicious mindset.
"So you did come. I had a feeling you would Kurumu-chan." a squeaky voice sounded above her, coming from the object of her hate, his mere voice fueling her rage further. Even as she forced herself to look up at the soon to be dead boy, there was no hiding her immense disgust.
Above her, sitting on one of the larger branches of the tree sat the slimy photographer who, even now was molesting her with his eyes alone. He was Kano Nagare, someone she completely forgot even meeting before but was still not above using her, blackmailing her to his perverted, creepy ends.
He made one mistake and that was taking away the hard work her friends made. Blackmail, humiliate her, that was one thing but trying to use her friends, friends she only now realized how desperately wanted, that was too far. He signed his death warrant.
And in his hands were the fruits of her and her friends' labor, the almost complete newspaper, along with a disc containing their digital copy. He was holding it without a care in the world as if he didn't realize how much those papers were to her. It only served to enrage her further.
"Is that what you were looking for." he asked with a self-satisfied smirk, waving them in her direction when he noticed what she was looking at.
To further humiliate her, Nagare casually opened the paper and began browsing it, acting as if there was nothing with him stealing their work. Kurumu was a moment away from turning to her monster form, using her wings to get into the smug bastard's face and introduce him to her claws but for once she decided to listen to her head, holding back and trying to spot an opening. Not her forte but she was resolute, the work she and her friends put into that pater meant so much to her.
Even then, if looks could kill then the creep would be nothing but a smoldering pile of ash, there was no doubt about that.
"In any case, this newspaper is really boring." he commented with a large grin, still not looking at her, seemingly absorbed reading the paper. "The writing is very childish like it was written by a five-year-old. And don't you think I'd be a much better choice to take pictures? This trash would be better off burnt!" he explained, laughing as if he said a great joke.
Kurumu's expression darkened further as he brought out a light and turned it on, holding it close to her beloved papers, acting as if he couldn't sense how much the succubus wished to kill him at that moment.
While he seemingly didn't notice the killing intent aimed at him, someone else did. Shikaku wore a cruel smile on his face as he watched the two of them from his hiding place. He was not too far away not to hear the whole thing but he was hidden enough not to be noticed by either of them, not that either idiot thought of someone accidentally walking into their little 'lover's quarrel'.
"My, what a delightful expression. Makes me want to crush her just a little bit more." he commented to himself, closing his right into a fist before relaxing it then once again repeating the motion. "Still, I guess they have a little more time before I make my move." he said, looking at the wristwatch on his head, noting that it was almost time for the other part of the plan.
He would have liked nothing more than crust both of those pathetic waste of spaces and be done with this whole charade but orders were orders. He may be a little foul-mouthed and just a tad too violent to be socially acceptable, he knew that out of the three of them Saru was the strongest, so he would follow his orders for the time being but as soon as he shows a single weakness he would be there to make the most use of it.
Until then at least he still got a little entertainment of his own, he thought to himself as he turned back to Kurumu and Nagare, curious how will the succubus react when backed into the corner.
"Well, what are you gonna do Kurumu-chan?" the creepy teen asked after he waited for a little to make his 'dear' Kurumu-chan sweat for a bit, pulling the lighter closer to the papers. "If you want to protect these then do what I say." he threatened her, laughing to himself creepily.
"And if you burn them?" her cold question cut off his celebration, even giving pause to the listening Shikaku who leaned forward in anticipation, surprised by this turn of events.
"What?" Nagare asked back dumbly, no longer looking as confident as before.
"Those are very important to the people I care about." she declared finally looking up properly, her hair no longer hiding her face and though she had a few tears in her eyes they were born out of frustration. But what really changed was her eyes, they shined with a determination that she didn't seem to hold a day before."And no matter what you do, I will never forgive you for dirtying them.!"
Nagare looked taken aback, visibly sweating at the sudden change of attitude in the girl before him. Yesterday she was easily cowed into doing what he wanted, she was just like a doll that he could use for his desires. Yet now, for some reason, she thought that she could defy him. Instantly, the nervousness he felt gave way to anger. How dare she, how dare his little toy think she could defy him? That just won't do.
"Now that's what I call quality entertainment," Shikaku commented with a large grin, finally seeing things go in a more interesting direction.
"What? Are you going to defy me?" the slimy creep hunched forward, his face hidden behind his air as he took a large breath, seemingly not finding his voice. "You're going to go against the likes of me..." he trailed off as a shudder went through his body, his sweating intensifying.
Something moved on his neck and a moment later some kind of antenna-like tubes burst out, one on each side. It released some kind of hard to see smoke, something that went completely unnoticed by Kurumu who was too busy watching Nagare's skin turns in a disturbing lime-green color as his whole body seemed to ooze sweat like he was in a sauna.
That was without a doubt Nagare's monster form. A distant part of Kurumu's mind, it seemed to reflect the inside perfectly, a sweaty, disgusting-looking creep matched the personality of the blackmailing photographer.
"I'm a monster as well you know, I don't have to rely on this crap." he said with that creepy grin of his, waving around the papers in his hand. "I didn't want to use it but I prepared a trump card just in case." he gloated.
Kurumu said nothing, instead unfolded her wings, unrevealing her monster form as well, though privately she felt a little doubt. Unlike Moka, Tsukune, or even Tsuna she was not a fighter, she preferred her hypnotism to do the trick, to pacify and control any who would stand against her.
Right now, she doubted that would work. Nagare was already a stalker of sorts, a little charm would not help much, not to mention she knew from experience that the charm could be broken, fought off, or simply ignored in the case of Tsuna. She still wanted an explanation for that one but he was tight-lipped, like in most topics involving him.
"Here I come, Kurumu-chan." he exclaimed gleefully as he jumped down from the branch, landing in front of her. He also simply threw away the newspaper, it landing on the ground, though thankfully it didn't look damaged, only a little dirtied.
Kurumu gritted her teeth in anger as she jumped back in reflex, her wings opening up, ready to take her to the skies where she could plan without worry but much to her shock her wings only gave a little flap, feeling too weak to carry her own weight. It wasn't just her wings either as she moved she was shocked to find how little strength she felt in her limbs which felt like they were made of lead.
Thanks to that, her coordination left much to be desired and she fell to her back. neither her arms nor legs responding properly, all the while that pervert was walking towards her at a leisure pace.
"Just what's going on?" she demanded, a little bit of fear making its way into her voice as Nagare loomed over her, his grin turning wider every second.
-0-
The newspaper worked quietly, all engrossed in their work but it wasn't the same as yesterday, Tsuna had had to admit. There was none of the easy camaraderie, the small jokes and shared laughs, instead, there was a heavy feeling in the air, that made it hard for him, or for the others to concentrate.
Ordinarily, Tsuna wouldn't be too bothered by this. While liked the newspaper club and had fun with the others, he was simply not as invested or attached to the work they did as the others. That was one of the reasons, along with other matters weighing on his mind that he was not as devastated as the others, knowing all their hard work was stolen, or that Kurumu decided to quit out of the blue.
He was simply too used to life-threatening dangers surrounding him and the activities he did, that as much as he liked going to school and having fun with the others, a part of him was always a little detached from it, readying for the dangers that were sure to arrive, knowing his luck.
It didn't mean that he was completely emotionless and he really didn't like the current atmosphere around them, especially in an indirect way it became like this because of him. That made it hard for him to concentrate, though, after a look around, he was not the only one.
Tsukune was distracted, looking up almost longingly at the direction of the door almost every minute, as if excepting Kurumu to return and join them. Unfortunately, Tsuna was pretty sure it wouldn't happen, not before he could deal with the youkai after him. Moka, on the other hand, wore an angry frown and tried her hardest to not pay attention to anything but what was before her, though she was hardly successful. Caught between a rock and a hard place, Yukari could only look at the two of them, worry tinting her face. Lambo similarly was tense and distracted but it was more because of the upcoming fight they both know will happen very soon. It was a tenseness which Tsuna was very well acquainted with and almost welcomed the familiar feeling.
From the corner of his eyes, he caught Gin working on his part of the paper, seemingly the only one of them who was able to give his full attention to his work. But Tsuna gave a thoughtful frown as he regarded the werewolf, his instincts telling him that it couldn't be farther from the truth.
He always had a hard time reading him, despite his at first glance simple personality. Maybe he underestimated him because of that but he was certainly caught off-guard a few times when the club president reacted in a manner different than he figured, it was after their initial meeting for him to understand that there was more to Gin than first met the eye.
Even now, while most would think he was busy with his work, Tsuna could notice subtle details that told him that it was just a mask. His body was tense as if preparing for a fight at any moment, his ears twitched at every single sound, keeping track of everything around him. Tsuna didn't like it, it meant he had to deal with an unknown factor and he was pulling his friends into enough danger without wanting to add any more to the equation.
In the end, the silence was finally broken by Tsukune who stood up, a little hesitant at first but a moment later, it cleared away, giving way to a resolute look, prompting the others to look at him in question.
"Tsukune-kun?" Moka asked, her hand rising as if to reach out to him before she thought better of it and lowered her head. Lambo and Yukari likewise looked at him, head tilted in confusion.
Tsukune didn't answer at first, likely trying to compose what to say when he met Tsuna's eyes, his gaze questioning. Tsuna forced his face to give a show of indifference, neither approving nor disapproving.
He was aware of what Tsukune was trying to do, he did the same thing when he was still a student under Reborn. He was looking at Tsuna for direction, to tell him where to direct these feelings he wasn't sure what to do. To tell him what to do, even if it was something he didn't want to do. But there lied the problem. He wasn't Reborn.
There was a reason that man was known as one of the best tutors in the world, along with his fame as a hitman. The Sun Arcobaleno could turn any situation in his favor, manipulate any incident into a lesson for his charge to learn from. And as much as he took a few of his lessons to heart, as much as he at times acted like his eccentric Spartan tutor from hell, he was and would never be Reborn.
In the first place, he didn't intend to act as a mentor to Tsukune. Using the dying will bullets on him, training him, and helping him master the dying will started mostly as a whim. Of course, he also didn't want to let the defenseless guy die just like that and later he realized that Tsukune was a good way to turn attention away from him if too many became interested in him. But even with that, he wouldn't, couldn't train him to be a mafia boss, a hitman, or even another Tsuna.
Though it was a bitter irony, talking about not wanting to manipulate his friend when his whole plan relied on him manipulating them into the proper course of action but he felt it was the line he shouldn't cross. Even if his whole plan was disrupted because of this, he wanted to let Tsukune make his own choice.
And to be truthful he didn't want to be seen as someone other people looked for answers, to follow. Right now, he was happy he could manage himself, not other people, especially people who were just as eccentric as his former guardians.
Tsukune's head lowered as Tsuna refused to answer his silent plea for help but it wasn't enough to shatter his newfound resolve. He took a deep breath before he looked up, meeting Moka's eyes this time.
"I'm sorry but I can't do this." he said, his face scrunching up in sadness but he went on. "I'm going to look for Kurumu-chan and...and I will talk to her and find out what's going on." he stated as he stepped away from the table.
The pink vampire was out of her seat an instant later, her hand catching his sleeve arm as he started to turn around, her face pleading and full of worry. Absentmindedly Tsuna noted that her rosary gave of a faint feeling of power as if Ura was watching how the situation, which he found a little odd. As far as he knew, since the last time the subject came up, Ura tended to simply sleep through most of the time the seal was on, only waking up with the removal of the seal. Her taking the time to be up and paying attention now was a little bit unusual, to say the least.
"You can't. If you leave at this point, we will surely miss the deadline and all of our work will be for nothing. Please...let's just concentrate on this right now. After that we can talk with Kurumu and..." she asked him but was cut off when Tsukune stepped away from her, giving her a sad smile.
Yukari watched with worry on her face while Gin looked at the spectacle in front of him with an almost bored look on his face, though, like Tsuna he was just simply better at masking his true feelings. For his part, Tsuna was simply surprised that Tsukune could 'defy' the pink vampire so easily.
Last he checked the black-haired human was crushing hard on Moka, similar he used to have one of the most obvious crushes on Kyoko during middle school. He did notice that during the last few weeks he spent a lot more time with Kurumu, along with not looking as starstruck around Moka but he didn't think he would be over his feelings so quickly. Seems like he underestimated his student.
"That sounds a little hypocritical of you." commented Gin when it seemed Tsukune was ready to leave in search of Kurumu. Every eye turned to the werewolf, who eyed a human with his head lazily resting on one of his hands. "Does that mean the newspaper club you said we would create together won't matter?" he asked, referring to how Tsukune, similar to Moka was one of the most passionate about their paper and put the most work into it.
Talk about putting him between a rock and a hard place, was Tsuna's thoughts as he watched Tsukune needing to choose between his passion for the newspaper club and his concern for Kurumu. Even he was curious about the answer, to see how his newfound resolution will hold.
"It's the opposite senpai." Tsukune replied quietly, his back to the others as he turned towards the door, stopping in front of it. "What I want is the newspaper we will create together. I don't feel that it would be complete without Kurumu-chan being here. I mean, it wouldn't be the same without any of us." he added hastily, a hint of nervousness creeping into his voice.
For a moment everyone stayed silent, sending him shocked looks, hearing the conviction in his voice. For his part, Tsuna found it humorous how similar Tsukune sounded to his younger self, whenever he found himself needing to make a choice. He would rather find a way to not need to make that choice, to be able to come home with every one of his friends. Part of him felt saddened he was no longer this naive but that same part felt proud for Tsukune's decision.
"Then why are standing there, looking like an idiot?" he asked and this time it was Tsukune who looked at him in surprise while Moka looked as if he betrayed her."Do you want permission? Why? If you feel like you need to do this then you shouldn't stand around, waiting for someone to tell you what to do. You have to take that resolution that you have and simply use i. Stay and work on the newspaper or leave and search for that succubus, in the end, no one can make that choice but you." he said, his voice hard and words struck a chord in Tsukune, causing him to straighten up and a resolute look to appear on his face.
It wasn't like Tsuna wanted to give a rousing speech or something but if there was something he appreciated in Reborn, that when it truly mattered he gave him a choice, to either go and stay. Of course most of the time it was not a real choice at all and with Tsukune's earlier words he was sure which one his student was going to choose but he still felt he needed to make his position clear.
Tsukune gave him a thankful smile and a nod before giving a look to the others in the room, taking in their faces. Lambo and Yukari were worried and unsure, Gin and Tsuna both looked bored while Moka's expression was hidden behind her hair. Someone was missing from that picture and that reminder was just what he needed to make his decision.
"Thank you." was all that Tsukune said before walking out of the room, closing the door behind him, showing no hesitation as he left.
Seeing that the drama around them seemed to be over for the moment, Tsuna turned back to the paper in his hand and tried to get back into it, at least to have something to do while he waited for his meeting with Mei and her group. That was the plan until Moka's voice turned his attention back to the vampire who was still looking in the direction of the door, one hand clutching her rosary.
"Why? Why did you tell him to leave?" she asked quietly, finally looking at him, her eyes conveying the hurt she felt."After all the time we worked on the newspaper together, with the original draft stolen, why did you tell him to chase after Kurumu, who left at the first chance of things getting tough? Does our club matter so little to you?" she asked, no demanded as tears gathered in her eyes, probably because of frustration, though Tsuna never claimed to understand women, so he could be wrong. He also felt another 'eye' watching him for his answer.
"I-I'm going to look in the back for any papers we may have missed." Yukari mumbled quietly as she decided to stay as far away from the argument between her sibling figures and she dragged Lambo with him who was watching the proceedings dumbly. Gin meanwhile turned back to his work in front of him, seemingly completely uninterested in all that drama.
"I didn't tell him to leave." was Tsuna's simple answer, not noticing the witch's hasty retreat. He let out a sigh as he leaned back on his chair, drumming his fingers as he thought over the situation."I simply gave him a choice to either stay or go. It's not like I told him that it's his destiny to go after Kurumu or that if he leaves, he could never come back. Neither did I try to emotionally manipulate him." he added as he gave a significant look which made her look away from him, not willing to meet his eyes.
Honestly, Tsuna did not understand Moka sometimes, though it was also true to women in general.
While he had some fun in this newspaper club, the simple fact that if they failed to complete the paper by the deadline, it would not matter to him much. What's the worst that could happen? The club would be disbanded but all they needed to do to go to the same club or make a new one and they would still be together. It felt a little strange that it was so important to Moka. No, not just Moka. Apparently, it was just as important to Kurumu, judging by his observations.
Though, he supposed his point of view was a little skewed. Since his middle school days, he regularly had to deal with all sorts of strange and ridiculous problems, various threats to his life and even the world's future rested on him, during his trip ten years into the future. Even now, he had to constantly dodge monsters who wanted nothing more than to beat him to a pulp because of various reasons, trying to outmaneuver a group of blackmailers, while keeping alive Tsukune who he pulled under his wing. Not to mention, he still had to worry about the poison in him slowly killing him.
On the other hand, while for unknown reasons Moka had her powers sealed, she had a much easier to understand life. She was ostracized in the human world, never having friends, so here in Youkai Academy where she can be her true self, so she would want to savor this experience as much as she could. It meant spending time with her newfound friends and even regular activities that sounded like they belonged in some kind of slice of life anime, like after-school club activities.
It was a mess on its own, something he would have liked to do without.
"The reason why I didn't try to stop him is simple enough." he spoke up after a moment, waiting until Moka finally met his eyes, wanting to get his point across. "Whether the course of action he chose was good or bad, doesn't matter. He chose, he has to through it and later has to face its consequences. It's that simple. Making mistakes, owning up to the results, without these, you can't grow as a person. Tsukune has to be allowed to make a choice. I accepted to train him with his powers, so it's my responsibility to have him grow as a person also." he let out a small laugh, his eyes clouded by memories of a certain tutor of his."Guess that's something I picked up from my own teacher."
"I just wanted to spend time, to have fun with everyone." the pink-haired girl said in a weak, sad voice that made Tsuna frown slightly. He was never good at trying to cheer up girls, or anyone for that matter, thanks to his lacking social skills. That didn't mean he couldn't try.
"I think that's the same for Tsukune. That's why he did what he did." he pointed out, Moka looking up at him, silently telling him to elaborate."He wants to have fun at the newspaper club with everyone but that means he couldn't let just Kurumu go. He is the naive kind of guy who will even go to the end of the earth for someone who acts like they want nothing to do with him." he said, a sad, nostalgic smile on his face.
"You..you look like you are talking from experience." she said, her head tilted slightly. She still looked a bit upset at Tsukune (and Kurumu) leaving and Tsuna taking their side but she seemed to calm down to at least try to think logically now that Tsuna decided to elaborate why he sided against her.
"I used to be like that, once." was all the answer the former leader of the vongola gave her, his eyes silently asking her not to dig any deeper into his past right now.
Thankfully for Tsuna their conservation by a surprised yell before Yukari ran up to them, her eyes wide and holding an envelope in her hands that seemed very familiar to him. He needed a moment but he recognized it as the envelope that Kurumu got yesterday.
"Tsuna-nii! Moka-nee! I found something awful." she cried out, Lambo trailing after her with a nervous look on his face. She held up the envelope for them to see, giving it to Tsuna when he held out his hand to see it. "I was looking through the back, trying to find some clues for the drafts and I found this in the toolbox." she explained.
"What's in it?" Gin asked, finally involving himself in the conversation as he walked up to them. He was no relaxed, he had a more serious look in his eyes.
Tsuna frowned as he read the small note before handing it to the werewolf, wisely deciding not to give the photos too. Instead, he gave them with the envelope to Moka who let out a shocked gasp as he started to think of the implications. It confirmed that Mei and her group intended to use Kurumu as a bargaining chip from the get-go, furthermore they had a member with great capability for spying judging from the embarrassing pictures.
What was worrying, it also meant there was a chance that his opponents already were aware of his contingencies which would be catastrophic for him. He felt he was careful enough when he made his moves but he couldn't say for certain, not even with the infamous Vongola Hyper Intuition on his side since he had no idea who he was exactly up against. On the other hand, it was too late to try and change the plan, his only option was to go forward and wing it.
"That's horrible!" Moka's voice brought him back into the present, reminding him that it was no use speculating about something he has no way to verify and his attention would be better served right now. "Do you think they are blackmailing Kurmu with these pictures?" she asked the others, probably already aware of the answer, only not wanting to be right.
"There's no doubt about that." Gin said, his face darkened at the implications before he forced a more neutral look on his face. Nonetheless, the others caught it, silently deciding to avoid angering the club president."What I can't understand, why steal the newspaper draft. If they wanted Kurumu to be punished they would have released the pictures to the student body.
"Maybe Kurumu didn't get along with what they wanted and instead stole our work, knowing she would care more about that?" Yukari asked, thinking out loud. It fit, so to speak, though Tsuna wondered how much his enemies knew about them if they anticipated Kurumu's reaction so well since on the surface Kurumu acted like a drama queen, much more interested in her own appearance than anything. It didn't bode well for them.
"Doesn't that mean that Kurumu left so she could get back the manuscripts?" the vampire asked from herself, arms wrapping around as she felt guilt settle in her, remembering her words to the succubus. "And I said such mean words to her before she left, I didn't mean, I didn't think-" she was cut off as a pair of slender hands wrapped around her waist, hugging her. Looking down she saw Yukari clinging to her, offering her a shaky smile.
"You didn't know it Moka-nee, please don't blame yourself. We can still help Kurumu since she probably at the same place this letter talks about." she told her, hoping to get her spirits up.
"That's right." Lambo suddenly spoke up, surprising them and reminding them there were others in the room. The young bovino was grinning from ear to ear, looking like Christmas came early. "Let's blow up that meanie so many times they will never try something like that. I will use a lot of explosions and then we can get cake!" he added with a cheer, the others had the feeling it was the most important part o the whole plan for him.
"What are you doing, feeling sorry for yourself?" a harsh voice came from inside, scolding her."Don't tell me you are so soft that all you can do is cry and sit around. You are a vampire, aren1t you. If you time feeling sorry for yourself, you can go out there and show them what it means, messing with a vampire."
"You guys." Moka teared up and was about to cry but a moment later she smiled and wiped away the few tears in her eyes. "You are right. Kurumu-chan and Tsukune-kun are in trouble we have to help them." without waiting for the others, clutching the letter close to her chest she stormed out of the clubroom, intent on helping her friends. As she began to run, she touched her rosary, giving it a fond smile. "Thank you as well, Ura-chan." she whispered to her other self.
"As if I would care about your thanks." Ura answered, still in a harsh tone, though Omote imagined her sealed self blushing at the moment. "Do whatever you want but I hope that using me to clean up your mess is not your only plan." with that, Ura closed the connection between them but it did nothing to lessen the smile on the pink-haired girl's face as she ran forward.
"Moka-nee! Wait!" the young witch cried out in shock, a heartbeat later she was in hot pursuit of her sister figure. Cackling to himself, Lambo was about to run after them but a hand on his shoulder stopped him cold. Looking up, he met Tsuna's eyes as the older teen looked at him seriously.
"Please look after them Lambo." he told him, the part of him not being there to help them himself left unsaid. Lambo gulped but nodded, silently promising that no one will come to harm under his watch."Thank you. If there is no other option, use the ten-year-old bazooka. As soon as I can I will be with you guys." Tsuna hesitated before giving a weak but genuine smile to his former guardian."Stay safe Lambo.
"Only if you promise to do the same." he said with a large grin, wanting, no, needing to hear confirmation that his big brother will be safe. But Tsuna's grim look as he squeezed his shoulder, told him that for once Tsuna could not make that promise.
Composing himself, the young hitman simply nodded before rushing after Moka and Yukari, not intending to break his promise to Tsuna. Tsuna didn't look in the direction they went, only sighing as he ran a hand through his hair, for a moment the exhaustion he felt showing himself through the cracks of his mask. A moment later, he once again looked as if there was nothing wrong with him and went to his desk, grabbing his bag, checking that he had everything with himself.
"You aren't going to join them?" Gin asked the only one who remained in the room. He was sitting on one of the desks, looking curiously at the former mafioso, wanting to see what he was going to do.
"Are you?" Tsuna asked back, sending a look to the werewolf before grabbing his bag and heading out of the room. He let out a sigh as he stopped at the door, though he did not turn back to Gin."As much as I want to, I have other matters to tend to. They will probably hate me for it but it won't change it's something I have to do."
"They why do it, whatever it is?" Gin asked back, though Tsuna got the feeling the other man had a good idea.
"I would love to say that it is because I have no choice but it would be a fat lie. I always had a choice, even if there seemed like there was no choice at all. I simply chose my path and now have to own up to it." he gave a small laugh, finding irony in this whole situation."It's funny. I chose to become the very thing I swore I would never be. It's a mistake but I have to see it to the end."
Gin didn't say anything and Tsuna looked uncertain. He made to step out of the room but stopped once again, visibly hesitating. He looked back at Gin, the older man watching him without any emotion or any judgment, deep in thought. Tsuna, on the other hand, sported a hesitant, soft look in his eyes that made him look so much younger than usual. It was something the werewolf didn't expect.
"I know that I am probably the last person who should say this but want my advice? That pull you feel inside? The one that tells you are not alone even when you are doing your best to distance yourself? That makes you interact with this ragtag group of first years even when you are doing your best to act as a lone wolf?" the club president was clearly shocked by his words, his eyes wide and mouth opening to protest but no words came out. Tsuna gave him a sad, pained smile."My advice is to not ignore that one. Trust me on that, there is nothing more empowering than when everyone stands together, the confirmation that whatever happens, you won't be alone at facing it. That's why, for me, the loneliest thing is an empty sky that lost everything." he turned away from Gin and left the room but his last words still reached the still shocked upper year."If I don't come back, look after them."
Gin didn't say anything for a long minute. He ran a hand through his hair and looked out the window, remembering another group he was a part of, the first where he felt accepted, where he simply wasn't Mad Dog Morioka and how he lost all of that. With a heavy sigh, he stood up and left a room as well, turning in the direction Moka and the others run off to.
"Guess I have no other choice but be the cool senpai and save my kouhai right?" he asked himself as he began to walk in slow, measured steps, hands in his pockets. After a few steps, he stopped, looking over his shoulder with a serious look on his face. "Sawada if you dare not to come back, I will never forgive you."
-0-
"Just where did Kurumu go?" Tsukune asked from himself, panting as he tried to catch his breath, completely exhausted from running around the school.
He had a bad feeling about this whole situation, Kurumu being very distant today, same for Tsuna, their manuscript had been stolen and Kurumu deciding to quit the newspaper club out of nowhere. Something was seriously wrong and he wanted, no needed to find out what's going on. Whenever he felt down, or Tsuna's training became too much, Kurumu was there for him, to cheer him up and he wouldN't be able to call himself her friend if he didn't help now when something was clearly off.
But despite his best intentions, he was getting nowhere. He ran around the school, checking on spots they tended the frequent, such as the cafeteria, his classroom, Kurumu's classroom. He even took a detour to the clearing Tsuna trained him before running back to the dorm, trying to see if she came back to her room but he found nothing. That prompted him to run back to the school building and make another round through it, with nothing to show for his efforts.
A few students who were still in the school, wandering the hallways looked at him, some in worry, others silently or not so silently laughing at him but he ignored them. He could only concentrate on this bad feeling, since he didn't know what else to call it, telling him that needed to hurry before something happened. But he was completely out of options, with no idea where to go.
His hands almost without thought drifted to his pocket, where the small case containing his dying will pills were. He considered taking one, hoping that while in that state, he would find Kurumu but he hesitated, knowing that it wasn't a good plan at all.
While the dying will state gave him a singular focus on his directive, it didn't miraculously provide him with a way to find Kurumu-chan. All it would accomplish was him running around in his underwear, yelling Kurumu's name much to his future embarrassment. Not to mention, the toll it took on his body, it always left him a little tired, something Tsuna said was excepted until he could control and maintain the dying will properly which won't happen anytime soon. All in all, it meant that the idea was out of the picture for now.
"What should I do? I can't find Kurumu anywhere, yet I can't just go back to the clubroom, not until I talked to her." he asked himself out loud, trying to think of a place he didn't look but it was a tall order, unfortunately, the school and its surrounding grounds were large, with far too many hiding places for those who didn't want to be found.
"That's quite a long face, kid." a slightly familiar voice interrupted his troubled thoughts, prompting him to look up in surprise. "Do be careful with that. Shows of weakness like that, and you will be killed before long. After all, Youkai Academy is a very scary place." he could almost hear the massive grin that the person who spoke would have on his face as he turned around, his eyes widening in recognition.
The creepy bus driver who took him to this school stood behind him, the usual creepy grin still on his face as he smoked his cigar, his glowing eyes not failing the send a shiver down his spine. He was so shocked by the appearance of the strange man that he didn't notice every other student quickly vacating the premises, looking scared out of their minds. It didn't seem to be a conscious decision, no one looked at Tsukune's or the bus driver's way, it was simply instinct that told them to keep living they had to leave. Of course, Tsukune being the dense teen with surprising little survival instinct completely overlooked that fact.
"The bus driver?" he exclaimed in shock, choosing to not notice the comment about him being killed. The threat of death was getting surprisingly commonplace in this school, so he tried not to dwell too much on it.
"Long time no see." the bus driver smirked at him before taking a long whiff of the cigar, his unnerving eyes no leaving the black-haired human, even as Tsukune began to fidget nervously in place."And you are still alive to bout. So how is it? Do you regret staying in this school?"
Despite his worries for Kurumu, the question caught him a little off guard. Did he regret staying in this school? His life was almost in a constant form of danger, one way or other, not to mention the hellish training from Tsuna and all other drama. He almost died because of a disease that he got because he tried to get stronger. He initially stayed to be closer to Moka, because of his crush on her, something that changed since then with her rejection.
But did it mean he regretted staying? He remembered the fun times he had with the others, Tsuna and Lambo fighting, Moka and Yukari helping him study, or just spending time with Kurumu whenever he got exhausted from training. He thought of the fun they had in the newspaper club yesterday, with even Gin joining in. That was what he loved in this place. It wasn't easy, he could die almost every day but finally, he felt like he belonged, ironically enough and he never wanted to let go of this feeling.
"I don't regret it at all." Tsukune answered with a clear voice, a small smile on his face. "It's scary and dangerous but I wouldn't trade it for anything." the bus driver said nothing but let out a puff of smoke from his mouth, looking at him unnervingly. "I'm sorry but I have to go and find one of my friends." he said, excusing himself as he turned around and began to walk away, remembering that he still had no idea where Kurumu could be.
The laugh the bus driver let out a moment later had him stopping and looking back in curiosity and a little in trepidation.
"There's no stopping you is there? Most people would be trying to get out of madness like this but you are charging headlong with no regards to your life." the bus driver said, pointing at him with his cigar, his grin becoming wider."You should look for your friend in the backyard of the school, around that large, scary-looking tree, in a bit of trouble. Though, before you run into mortal danger, you should remember that your friend with the mysterious path won't be there to help you, even he can't fight a battle on two fronts. That means it's all on you, kid."
The bus driver received no answer, as the teen suddenly turned around and began to run, in the direction where Kurumu was. Any other time, he would have wondered how the man knew these things, about Tsuna being in trouble as well but there was no time. Kurumu was in danger. Kurumu, who was always there for him as a friend, who looked after him when the death skull disease first appeared. He didn't even realize he grabbed the container in his pocket by the time he popped a dying will bullet into this mouth.
For a moment, he felt the by now familiar feeling of his heart skipping a beat, the icy fear dawning on him that he was back there at death's door. Usually, it felt like an eternity, being here before the surging flames of dying will flames filled him as the regret he was feeling at the moment, pulled him into the dying will state. Not this time. Almost immediately a new strength filled him, stronger than ever, purging his mind of all thoughts save for the one, the one thing he regretted at the moment.
"I'll find Kurumu as I were to die!" he roared as his clothes, save for his underwear got destroyed by the surge of energy as the dying will flame appeared on his forehead. "Out of the way." he yelled as he quickly jumped to the side, avoiding running into the only student who remained in the corridor as he charged forward, intent on reaching his friend.
The person he almost tramped looked after him with an almost blank expression, giving no idea of her actual thoughts. She was a young girl with long purple hair, blue, almost purple eyes with no visible pupil, and a lollipop in her mouth. Instead of the required uniform, she didn't wear a uniform, she was wearing a light brown pleated checkered skirt, a white sweatshirt with long dark blue sleeves with a black singlet underneath, a yellow pendant, long dark & light purple striped stockings with white shoes and a belt tied to her left leg. She was also very, very pale but instead of looking sick, it seemed more of a natural skin tone.
She tilted her head as she watched Tsukune's retreating form before pulling the lollipop out of her mouth with an audible pop. She seemed to think about something for a minute before shrugging to herself and began to leisurely walk in the direction the dying will user ran off, leaving the bus driver alone in the corridor.
"These kids are just as interesting as ever." he commented as a cloaked figure appeared behind him, chuckling ominously. "Let's see how you handle these new developments, Sawada boy." he breathed out a large cloud of smoke that covered their forms. When the smoke dissipated, there was no evidence of either of them.