Greeting my dear readers, Naintarlow checking in.
I didn't believe I could pull it off but I was able to post a new chapter before the year's end, so let me start with wishing everyone a happy and hopefully much better new year and hope everyone enjoyed the Christmas holidays despite the pandemic still going on. A little late but here is my Christmas present to you guys.
It's once again a slightly small chapter with the plot barely taking a few baby steps forward but I found I love to take things slow and include as many little things as I could. Tsukune vs Nagare and Tsuna vs Saru and Mei are finally starting with a few surprise additions on the way.
I also hid two references in this chapter, if anyone spots them they get a cookie. One of them is really easy to miss but the second literally stares into your face.
I want to thank everyone for the great support you gave me during this year, it really makes writing my fics worth it. Here to a better year.
Chapter 14 never anger a Vongola
"What's wrong Kurumu-chan? Do you feel unwell? Want me to look after you?" Nagase asked her with a mocking grin as he slowly walked, no, crawled toward her as his lower body turned into a large green mass.
Kurumu was lying on the ground, a terrified expression on her face as she found her body refusing to respond to her at all, only the useless twitch of her arms and legs showing that she was completely paralyzed. But that didn't mean anything right now as that still left her unable to do anything as the creep neared her.
"What did you do to me?" she ground out even as she had to fight down her disgust as Nagare kneeled down next to her, grabbing a fistful of her hair and waving his fingers through it with a disturbing smile.
"Whatever do you mean?" he asked back, trying to play dumb but his face betrayed him even when it was obvious it was his doing."Oh, you mean the paralysis? It's a poisonous gas that I can emit, not that powerful but very useful in certain situations if you know what I mean." he made no secrets of his intentions as he eyed certain parts of her with a lustful gaze as he giggled to himself.
Shikaku, still hidden from view, was watching them with a disgusted frown on his face. He was by no means a Saint, perfectly willing to kill, export, and do a lot of things that even other youkai would balk but the main difference was that he did those things as a means to an end, to gain power and be free of any who would try to control him. Sure, he would take great pleasure in mocking his enemies and pouring salt into the wound but at least he had the spine and strength to back himself up.
This cretin would never try anything bold like this if it wasn't for the three of them backing him up so to speak. This creepy weakling would cover at the smallest sign of things not going according to plan.
Shikaku honestly felt insulted at being sorted to watch duty as opposed to the others meeting the Vongola but he will endure. For now but rest assured, the time will come where he will be the one giving orders.
"Let me go, you bastard." Kurumu cried out even as she uselessly twitched, her strength being eaten away little by little much to Nagase's amusement.
"You are hurting my feelings Kurumu-chan. After the bond we share this is how you treat me?" the smug prick cried in mock sadness before his cruel grin once again took its place. With the Succubus completely defenseless he placed his right hand on her thigh and slowly began to run his hand further up." This wouldn't do. Time for a punishment Kruumu-chan. Don't be afraid, you will feel good I promise."
"Noooo!" feeling even more distressed she fired out, desperately hoping to find her ability to move but at this point, she wasn't even able to move her neck, only her eyes and mouth much to her dawning horror. "Help! Please, someone, help me!" she cried out but Shikaku was the only one who heard her and he wasn't about to move even a finger to help her.
"Scream all you want my dear, no one will hear you." the slug monster laughed at the sheer horror in her face as his hand slid under her skirt.
As if deciding to contradict his words, a loud roar, something that probably belonged to a beast that anything intelligent reached them, prompting Nagare to stop and look around in shock. Kurumu on the other hand, her eyes lit up with a new light as a hopeful smile appeared on her face since that battle cry was one that was very familiar to her.
"Raaaaaah!" they heard the roar once again, this time much closer, to be more precise it sounded like it came from above them.
Nagare felt his survival instincts flare-up, the very instincts that helped him survive in this school, and followed them without pause, narrowly missing the human-shaped bullet that landed where his head was a moment before with a thunderous roar, creating a small crater. It was Tsukune, his completely white eyes and flame on his forehead, showing he entered dying will mode.
Thankfully he was able to land in a way that Kurumu was completely unharmed, safely lying behind him, his body serving as a living barrier against the slug youkai.
"Tsu-Tsukune-kun?" she asked, completely shocked but couldn't hide the tears of relief and happy smile at seeing him. After all, he was her hero, the one she knew deep down that would never betray her, no matter what. And now, after what she said, he was still here.
'So this is the fabled dying will flame. Show me what all that hype is for.' Shikaku though he eagerly leaned forward, not wanting to miss any of the action. He wanted to see how this power could tip the scales in a powerless, talentless human's favor, already imagining what it would do to his already considerable power.'I will be unstoppable once I have this power in my grasp.'
A part of him wondered why they were focusing so much on the former Vongola when this kid looked even more reckless and vulnerable, providing easy access to those legendary bullets but without voicing the thought, he already knew it wouldn't serve their long term goals.
While looking and acting a lot weaker than the rumors would suggest, if Sawada had even a decent brain cell in his brain, he would carefully monitor how many bullets his so-called student would have access to. They could gain so much more in the long term by focusing on Sawada, not to mention the extra cash from the bounty placed on him would only help them along.
Still, this situation provided some entertainment for him at least, until he needed to make a move himself.
"Who-Who do you think you are?" Nagare fumed as he stood up, unbidden fury taking over his slug-like features."How dare you interrupt my time with Kurumuchan?"
Tsukune didn't answer, only growling at the photographer while he took up a protective stance in front of the still paralyzed Succubus, his body hunched forward, resembling more of an ape at that moment than a human.
"Tsukune-kun. Please be careful, he can create a poison that paralyzes your body, don't get too close to him." Kurumu called to him worriedly, straining her neck to look up to her savior.
Nagare scowled as that damned woman spilled out his secret weapon, already sweating either from nervousness or as a sheer defense reaction to the clear danger standing in front of him. Despite his abilities, he was not a strong monster, and conflict of any kind was the very, very last resort of his options if he could help it.
He did not feel particularly hopeful about fighting that crazy kid, who runs around in school in a boxer of all things, head lit on fire beating up various monsters who were no doubt physically stronger than him. But then the slug youkai was not ready to just give up his prize.
"If you think you can stand between me and my beautiful prize, you have another thing coming." he spoke up, forcing a confident demeanor over himself, trying to bluff his way out. Though he had a few tricks up his sleeve, there was a reason he was the bottom of the food pyramid of this school, so to speak."You don't know who you are messing with."
"IT. WILL. BE. ALRIGHT." Tsukune growled out in an almost broken manner as he continued to growl like an enraged animal. "I will protect Kurumu-chan with my dying will." he declared to the clearing, bringing a blush to the girl's face, especially because of the helpless position she was in.
While under the influence of the dying will pill he appeared confident and unrelenting on the outside, the inside was a little different. What part of Tsukune remained logical and normal was trying his hardest to keep himself from panicking as he felt the power of his dying will slowly but surely growing smaller, and tried to hold onto it as best as he could, remembering Tsuna's earlier warning about the dangers and drawbacks on relying on the dying will to make up for his lack of strength.
-0-
"Tunnel vision?" he dumbly repeated the words he heard, looking at his mentor slash tormentor in question.
It was the end of his latest training session with Tsuna which surprisingly ended with little amounts of explosives or general near-death experiences, something he was thankful for. He still ended up dead on his feet and unable to even find the power to stand as he slumped down next to a tree like a puppet cut off its strings.
Tsuna, on the other hand, sat on a branch above him, looking like a lazy cat as he was trying and failing at concentrating on the Japanese literature book in front of him. He was never the most studious student, in his younger years, he lacked both the ability and the drive to concentrate on it and not even Reborn's questionable methods managed to change his mind. It also did not help that their teachers were half-assing or simply taught wrong things in class, probably because youkai did not have the clearest picture of how the human world worked.
Finally admitting defeat, he closed the book with a snap and leaned back, one leg dangling below while the other was pulled back to his chest, providing a convenient armrest for him, enjoying the relatively nice morning, a little piece of peace that was rare in this school.
"Tunnel vision is one of the most prominent drawbacks of using the basic dying will bullet, especially on someone like you whose experience is fairly limited." he started to explain after a minute when his pupil started to wonder if he was sleeping. "The dying will works on the premise of awakening your greatest regret and pushing your body to carry out your last will so to speak. But it makes you incapable of thinking rationally, running forward like a bull, the only thought is completing your objective, nothing else matters. Not who or what stands in the way. It makes you run headlong into speeding trucks, through the girls' locker room with nothing but a boxer, jump into a river when you can't swim or destroy a whole national site while mindlessly running headfirst." he said, trailing off in the end, a faraway look in his way. It had equal parts of longing and deeply repressed trauma.
"Um, Tsuna-san?" Tsukune called out to him softly, worry ringing his voice. In response, Tsuna simply shook his head, shaking himself out of his memories.
"Sorry, bad memories." he told him with a small smile as he got up and jumped down from the tree, landing in front of Tsukune in a crouch."As I told you, while using the dying will bullet, even if I assist you with the additional bullets to the body is a good idea to use short term, in a longer battle it will be a lot less effective, which means you have to find the means the overcome these weaknesses."
"Is that tunnel vision really that dangerous." his pupil asked back curiously as he tried and failed to stand up, ending back at the side of a tree in a heap. "Considering I'm practically invincible in that state, I doubt I would run into a lot of problems."
Tsukune a moment later cried out in pain as a small rock bounced off his head, the brown-haired former mafioso looked at him with an amused smirk, though it soon disappeared, a serious expression taking its place.
"I'll give you an example. Say, someone stands in your way, someone who you can't beat even with your enhanced power. What would you do? Normally you would try to get past them, trick them, or use some kind of strategy. Only, your conscious mind is no longer in control." Tsuna explained, pointing at his forehead. "Your body moves according to one and only one thing, the dying will that was left in you as the bullet took common sense, no survival instinct, not even your allies could change your mind. And with it, we come to the second biggest flaw of this method." he said, holding up two fingers, while Tsukune, eagerly listened, since it was rare for Tsuna to sit down and explain things, instead of dropping him into a minefield and expecting him to figure things out. "You cannot change your will. What I mean by that is that in a battle, things are quick to change and even if something happened, say someone was in danger and you wanted to help them, if your dying will is concentrating on something else, you just can't will your body to change directions. It's kind of connected with tunnel vision and could be very bad, especially if you fight with allies. You would be essentially a loose cannon, a force of nature that can't be controlled."
Tsukune scratched the back of his head as he tried to understand what his teacher was trying to say. It was kind of hard since he always saw the dying will as some sort of invincible power, probably on the same level as Moka's unleashed vampire powers. Then, he promptly remembered that there were indeed limits to the power, case in point his unquestionable loss against Ishigami-sensei, though he blamed the skull disease for it.
"Is there no way the change the will behind it?" he asked in the end, looking curiously at Tsuna who sighed.
"It is possible to slightly change it, at least in theory but even then the change will be really small and you run the risk of losing the power of dying will entirely. This takes us to the final and possibly greatest weakness of this power. The power of dying will, despite how it feels while you use it, is finite."
"What do you mean by finite?" came the curious, if not a little confused question.
"The dying will state by its nature is not a state you can stay in indefinitely. After all, the will that's used as fuel for a lack of better term could be broken or exhausted."
Swirls comically replaced the raven-haired teen's eyes and Tsuna had to sigh as he saw no signs of comprehension. Who knew this would be harder than explaining things to Ryohei or Takeshi. At times like these, he solely wished there was some kind of manual for training people in the use of dying flames, which would make his job infinitely easier.
Of course, knowing his luck, there was such a manual, only Reborn, that troll from Hell simply decided not to inform him of this tidbit.
"In simpler terms, there are 2 ways the dying will could be extinguished." Tsuna began to explain, holding up four fingers."The first one is the most obvious, you complete what was your regret, returning to normal. But even that is dangerous since if it happens in the middle of a battle, you will be exhausted and completely defenseless." he saw Tsukune flinch at the thought but didn't let up, needing to drive the point home. "The second one is simply exhaustion. If you remember the way you and I use the dying will is different. That is because unlike you I can regulate the dying will flame I give out, keeping myself longer in that state with less energy used up. You on the other hand, simply are stuck on the maximum output, because of that, even if you can't accomplish your last regret, you can't stay in that form for more than 5 minutes. The dying will be snuffed out and will leave you exhausted."
At his words, Tsukune's mood dropped further, seeing the large gap in their abilities. When Tsuna fought against those lizardmen with the others, he was in the dying will state far longer than Tsukune ever did, during training or outside of it. Clenching his fists, he looked up at his mentor determinedly.
"Isn't there some exercise that can help me master it?" he asked hopefully, but those hopes were quickly dashed as his mentor shook his head.
"While there are a few tricks that make it easier, ultimately the only way is simply to use the dying will so frequently your body adjusts to it but it takes a lot of time, so for the time being this option is out. And before you ask, you just simply can't take another dying will pill to reenter the dying will state." Tsukune's jaw audibly clicked as he quickly closed his mouth just as he was about to ask precisely that."Your exhaustion will not disappear, after all, it is your will, your lifeforce from a certain point of view that is used up, and without resting you will run the risks of dying for sure if you take one pill too many." Tsuna told him solemnly.
"And what is the limit?" Tsukune asked back, feeling more and more unnerved from this talk.
His teacher slash torturer didn't answer at first. Tsuna didn't know why but he noticed that no matter how much he pushed the other teen, he was unable to go above a certain limit, his body giving up and leaving him exhausted at best, unconscious at worst. Simply put, he was nowhere as compatible with the dying will bullet as Tsuna.
He had no idea if it was because of the Vongola line having dying will users for generations, or simply Tsukune being unlucky and less suited for this kind of power but the fact was that Tsuna had to be careful how much he can push him in training. While the body bullet variations put relatively little strain on the body since the dying will is already in use, reentering that state multiple times is another thing entirely.
Giving a large sigh, finally feeling how much responsibility it was to teach somehow, especially something as double-edged and mostly unknown as the dying will. He looked Tsukune in the eye, trying to convey how serious his next words will be,
"Tsukune, the school only started about two months ago, two months since you were introduced to the dying will flame. You were only training your boy for a little over a month and while you come a long way, it's still not enough. At your current state, if you try to take a second pill in the middle of a battle, there is a large chance that it will be the last thing you do." he told him, his student paling as the implications hit him.
-0-
'I have to make the most of my dying will while it lasts, otherwise, I would be in really big trouble.' was what Tsukune thought as he gave a battle cry and launched himself forward, intending to knock out Nagare in one blow.
Tsukune sent a haymaker at the slug youkai but he showed that he didn't survive in this 'might makes right' society just by being lucky as he quickly avoided the blow narrowly, the dying will user only striking the ground, forming a small fist-sized crater in its place. Still, the strength of the blow alone sent Nagare flying, who was surprised by the sheer strength the weak-looking guy was able to bring forth, causing him to suddenly feel a lot more nervous.
"Just what kind of freak are you?" he asked in disbelief but a moment later he had to shut up and run as Tsukune began to chase him, intent on pummeling him into a pulp before his dying will runs out.
Using the slime that his body secreted which was usually useful for getting him into tight spaces no one with humanoid anatomy could normally do, he was able to avoid those earth-shattering blows by just the skin of his teeth but he knew he couldn't avoid it forever. Thankfully he didn't have to.
If he was asked for his opinion, Nagare would say he was a lover not a fighter and he would happily deal with all those idiotic muscles for brains after they were incapacitated by the poison gas released from his body. Unfortunately, his paralysis took a while to really begin affecting the target, not to mention in the middle of a battle it was even slower thanks to adrenalin running in his opponent. If it were otherwise, he would have carved himself a higher place in the power ladder of the school.
Shikaku, who stayed in his convenient hiding spot was watching them with a sneer on his face. Honestly, with one of them just jumping around, punching and kicking without any tactic, and the others simply running away without even trying to fight back, it looked more like a playground fight than anything else. Worse, that it was literally over some girl who he personally thought didn't even look that good save for those enormous milk bags of hers.
Well, at the very least it looked like it was winding down, which meant it would be his moment to enter the fray very soon.
"Try not to make it too boring." he muttered to himself as he cracked his neck, a sadistic smile on his face.
-0-
"Seems like things are finally in motion." Tsuna mumbled to himself as he looked in the direction of Tsukune and the others had run off with a pensive expression on his face. Natsu, still in his ring form growled either as an answer or some kind of reassurance that brought a small smile from the mafioso. "Don't you dare die or I will find some way to bring you back and train you to your second death." he said before turning around and walking away, hoping his friends will get out of this whole situation unharmed.
It was out of his hands now, he could only deal with the cards that he had been dealt with. Did he have any doubt? Any private, treacherous thoughts? Perhaps but he could ill afford to hesitate now. Later, after it was over he will have time to beat himself over his actions, of acting just like the mafioso he used to accuse of not caring about their subordinates. He would grovel for forgiveness but not now.
Tsuna forced an impassive mask over his face as he arrived at the meeting place with five minutes left before the deadline. He was completely alone but he had no doubt his blackmailers would pop up soon enough. As he looked around, noting their surroundings and watching for anything out of place, his attention turned back to the large tree on the other side as he heard the soft sound of leaves moving.
"Yo-ho, Tsuna-kun! Did you miss me?" a boisterous voice called out to him, the owner of the voice sounded like she was in a very good mood.
There, perched on a branch just like the last time he saw her was Mei, waving at him with an eagerness that reminded him of a certain bomber. But his attention was drawn to the second figure, standing at the base of the tree with a passive look on his face, arms crossed over his chest.
He was massive, there was no other way to say it. He knew a few large guys, Leviathan of the Varia coming to mind but even he would look like a little kid next to this guy. Heck, if he was wearing a gas mask with a black goat, he would have thought Spanner made a new Gola Mosca.
He was strong, there was no doubt about that. Despite not showing any killing intent and making no threatening moves, Tsuna's instincts were telling him he was equally as dangerous if not more than Mei. And while this was well within his plans, he would lie if he said he wouldn't have liked being proven overly paranoid.
"Greeting, Sawada Tsunayoshi-dono." he greeted Tsuna with a polite nod of the head, uncrossing his arms and taking a single step towards him. His voice was rough as if he wasn't used to speaking very much but for all the politeness, Tsuna couldn't help but tense as he watched him warily. "This is the first time we meet face to face. Allow me to introduce myself, my name is Saru. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."
'That's just great' Tsuna thought with a barely held back grimace, already knowing what type of man this Saru was. He was the kind who would act all gentlemanly, high, and mighty despite the things he does to get what he wants. And when things didn't go his way, he would be the first to lose his cool and act in anger.
Honestly, while thankfully he had relatively few meetings with other mafia bosses during his tenure as the tenth Vongola candidate, he had a few run-ins with a man like Saru and it was honestly not an experience he liked in any way. Those old men who felt like the kings of their little hills were unreasonable and way too quick to try and make themselves put above others, that was what Reborn told him after a particularly frustrating and fruitless meeting.
Personally, Tsuna preferred men like Xanxus who at least didn't try to hide their dislike of you and would be the first to tell you if they had a problem with you. He could appreciate that, especially since the fabled Vongola Intuition served well as a lie detector most of the time and in the mafia, one tends to value honesty over most other things.
"Let's just cut the chit chat, I hate boring formalities like that." he answered in the end, doing his best to keep his face as impassive as he could, which was easier than done considering the circumstances. "Though I should be honored that you chose to show up. Is there any more of you, Maybe hiding around here to catch me off-guard if I try anything?" he asked, making a deliberate motion of looking around.
"No." was the simple reply from the large man while Mei began to giggle to herself and seemingly stopped paying attention to their conversation.
"I see. Then I suppose they are keeping an eye on Kurumu, making sure you have a hostage to use, am I right? That's a textbook ransom, I tell you, my tutor would be proud." he asked instead, not in a particular hurry. "Though I have to tell you, stealing our club's manuscript is a low blow, even for you guys. It's like stealing candy from a baby, it's just unethical."
Unfortunately, he could only hazard guess how much time it would take for Tsukune and the others to find Kurumu and to get her out of the enemy's grasp for the second phase of his plan to work. Until then he needed to buy as much time as possible, though he knew it was only a question of minutes until he was forced to fight. Ah well, no risk, no gain.
"Enough!" the words were softly spoken but still carried enough power for Tsuna to tense on instinct and Mei to stop letting herself be distracted. Saru glared at the human, taking a simple threatening step. "There is no use stalling, or your precious friend won't like the consequences. Did you bring the bullets?"
Tsuna frowned, though he honestly didn't expect to gain much time by chit-chatting, one can always hope for a monologuing villain. He held up the briefcase, not missing how the large man's eyes lighted with greed at the sight of it. It wasn't that surprising, with how much the Vongola protected its secrets and power, a simple dying will was worth more than entire plots of lands.
"Sheesh, not even an old-style bantering? You guys are making it even sadder than it should be. Yes, it's here, though I kind of think it's better if it stays with me." he said, lowering the case next to him, a defiant expression appearing on his face. In an instant, both youkai's mood visibly soured.
Meanwhile, he used the movement of his arm, to subtly check the time on his watch, showing he somehow needed to stall for two more minutes before his next distraction came. Easier said than done.
"You seem to misunderstand, Sawada Tsunayoshi. You don't have a choice. Hand over the bullets." Saru said with a threatening undertone, slowly losing his composure.
"Can I beat him up now Saru?" the girl asked, still having an eager smile, though the look in her eyes was replaced by something much darker and predatory. If Tsuna had to make an educated guess, Saru was the brain of the operation and strong enough by himself to gather people around him but the real threat was Mei.
"You know despite my low test scores I'm not an idiot. There is no point handing it over to you since you will simply kill me once you get it. Lose and all that. Plus, I have a feeling I also have a bounty on my head that you would love to collect." it was nothing but a very subtle twitch on Saru's face but it was more than enough to confirm his suspicions. "So there is a bounty. Have a few guesses of who could have posted it but it can wait. I rather fight and die than roll over and just give up, there's your answer." Tsuna stated with a smirk that angered Saru so much that he was visibly having a hard time holding himself back.
For a moment all of them just stared at each other, bodies tensing at the inevitable fight but none of them made the first move just yet. Saru was still cautious of Tsuna, too many failed to defeat him in the past because of underestimating, Mei was waiting for his signal and Tsuna still had a minute he needed for his 'backup'.
"Does that mean the life is your friend means nothing to you? It's a very cruel thing, though coming from a former mafia boss it's not surprising at-" the large man began to say but was cut off by Tsuna as his impassive mask shattered showing the fury he felt deep down by this whole fiasco as he bared his teeth at them.
"Don't you dare lecture me when I know well enough you planned to kill Kurumu no matter the outcome, same as me." he yelled, losing his cool as he instinctively took a fighting stance but managed to stop himself from doing anything drastic just yet. It was a near thing,
Saru may not have known but he really touched a nerve there. But it was enough that it put the smug expression back into Saru's face, feeling as if he was once again in control of the situation.
The lack of response to his claims from either of the youkai in front of him was telling enough, and Tsuna gritted his teeth as he tried his best to rein in his anger, especially when Mei began to look bored. The soft growling from Natsu's ring was the only thing that reminded him to get back on track.
"I accepted the darkness that came with a mafia, much to my chagrin." he started to say, much calmer, thanks to his partner's presence. "As much as I loved to preach I would never join in my younger days, I admit I have sunk into their level. That's fine." suddenly his ring caught fire as Natsu emerged from the ring and settled down on his right shoulder, growling furiously at Saru and Mei as a dark look resurfaced in Tsuna's eyes. "If I have to lie, cheat, or bloody my hands for the sake of my friends so be it. Later, I will ask for forgiveness, for becoming the very thing I swore not to but I won't let anyone get away with threatening my friends. You made a grievous mistake. You cornered me and threatened the few remaining friends I have. Didn't the Todd tell you? Never anger a Vongola because the wrath of one is not a nice thing."
In reaction to his words, Mei jumped down from her perch, landing next to Saru in a crunch, red dusting her cheeks as her mouth curved into a large smile.
"Are you done talking, Saru? Can I kill him now? Pretty, pretty please?" she asked, though she kept her eyes on Tsuna, a disturbing desire burning in them that made him unnerved. It was easily Mukuro level creepy.
Saru sighed and much to the human's confusion began to unbutton his shirt while his skin turned to grey and less rotund for the lack of a better term. By the time he was done and threw the shirt to the side, his body seemingly transformed into solid stone, the only thing that didn't change was his hair much to Tsuna's confusion.
"I guess negotiations could be considered broken down. How unfortunate." he lamented with a sigh but Tsuna could see the bloodlust hiding underneath all that fake politeness. He would have chosen this even if Tsuna was willing to cooperate, to prove to others or himself his strength. "Mei, if you would."
At his words, the girl practically exploded into motion charging, no, simply jumping forward to Tsuna her right arm drawn back to a punch. She practically disappeared from the space she was a moment before, so fast she was. If Tsuna wasn't aware of her speed from yesterday he would've been completely caught off-guard. Even with that, it was still a little hard to follow her with his eyes alone, despite charging at him in a straight line.
His intuition flared up, warning him of the danger but Tsuna only gave a confident smirk and forced his body not to move. Unnoticed by either Mei or Saru, on the watch, Tsuna wore on his wrist, the minute arm arrived at 12 at that precise moment.
At that moment Mei finally closed the distance between them, appearing in front of Tsuna aiming to take his head off with her punch but someone or something got between them, causing her eyes to widen but had no time to change the direction or do anything.
With all her strength she punched something metal, a loud sound ringing in the whole clearing but whatever it was it did not give, even to her strength, standing firm in front of Tsuna. The human in question narrowed his eyes as he felt his hair being ruffled by the sheer wind generated by Mei's punch and had to re-evaluate her opinion of her. She was not only faster than almost anyone he encountered here but she was far stronger than her frame suggested. Though he was sure Moka in her released state would have no trouble with her, for him in his current state, it complicated things.
"What the?" Mei asked in disbelief as she jumped back. Saru who made no move, apparently confident of his associate's strength to easily defeat Tsuna was similarly shocked.
As the dust, created by her punch dissipated, the two of them were further surprised that the metal object Mei stuck turned out to be a large box that was carried by a younger-looking student. They didn't see the student's face because he was facing away from them, turning to Tsuna who watched the events unfold impassively.
The new arrival was a young man, wearing the school's uniform with a small bag held in front of his chest and the large, metal box on his back. He had rather tanned skin, an athletic physique with ruffled, black hair with burgundy tips, combed back to expose his forehead, and wide, dark red eyes with white pupils. He also has a scar on the top left of his forehead. Overall, at first glance, he looked completely harmless and weak but neither youkai got where they were today by underestimating their enemies. Especially after he blocked a blow from Mei as it was nothing special.
"Excuse me for the intrusion." the unknown teen apologized furiously, bowing both to Tsuna and the two members of the Todd family, before pulling off the box from his, placing it down next to himself with a thud. "I'm Tontaro Itadaki from the Post Office Club, I'm here to deliver a package to Sawada Tsunayoshi." he explained eagerly after checking a paper he held in his hand.,
-0-
"Captain? Is everything alright?" one of the members of the karate club asked hesitantly, after sharing an uncertain look with his fellows.
Haiji could be called many things, slave-driver in the foremost but the captain of the karate club was always punctual about his training. He may have started well before anyone else but when the time for their club activity came, he would be there to pummel, er teach them. Yet now, their training should have started five minutes ago but instead of working them to the bone, their captain simply sat on the tatami in seiza with a contemplative look on his face.
The brave soul that decided to question Haiji went to try again after his captain stayed silent but was silenced when the man held up a hand, a moment later the man stood up, an unusually serious and intimidating air around him.
"Kosube." he called out to one of the older members of the club, a second-year student who immediately nodded his head, showing he was listening. "Please, lead the training for today, I have some business, though hopefully, I will be back before long." he told them, and without waiting for an answer he walked out of the dojo, still in his training gear.
What none of them saw was the eager grin on his face as he walked toward the school building, particularly toward a somewhat secluded part behind it.
"Don't keep me hanging Sawada. I want to see what you are like when you are serious." he muttered to himself, an eagerness inside that he didn't feel like since a long time ago. The last time was when he first encountered the Siren with Ginei when the latter was still called Mad Dog.
And here he feared his second year in school would be a boring one.