Hello my dear readers, NainTarlow checking in
I'm extremely sorry for the late chapter but it's finally done and we are almost at the end of the Blackmail/youkai hitmen arc. I'm sorry anyone who feels like this part dragged on a bit too long. It started out as me trying out different, little complicated things and it grew into such a large story. I could easily hurry it along and finish it with even half a usual chapter but I want to give the characters and the story the attention and detail I think it deserves after putting so much work into it.
So for those who had enough of it, hang in there, only one chapter left before I move on to Mizue's introduction and then another large arc, the fight against the PSC guys. As for those who enjoyed this twist and the resulting conflict, I'm really thankful for your support.
I'm also continuing the side story, though its size is relatively small compared to the main chapter but it's mostly for setting things up for later and to show what happens to gokudera and best girl Chrome.
As always, I'm extremely thankful for the support, the favorites, follows and especially the reviews. I appreciate every feedback, even negative ones, as long as they are constructive, so feel free to attack me with all you have. Also recently we hit the 500 favorites, so hurray
Let's get on with the chapter.
Chapter 16 Backed into a corner
"Just who is this guy?" Tsukune asked in disbelief, as Shikaku observed them with a bored look.
It was as if they were nothing, not even a challenge to him. And from the shivers he got just from looking at him, the young teen was not so hopeful on their chances.
"Wait, Shikaku! I can still make it right, just give a chance, one chance. I can prove that I am useful." Nagare pleaded with a terrified tone but in response the teen only grounded his shoe deeper into the slug.
"Please, you outlived your usefulness a long time ago. Just lie there like the weakling you are. I'm merciful enough that I will kill you last. Don't expect anything more." he said to him as if he was talking about the weather. GIving a last kick to the downed slug, he turned to the newspaper group who watched in shocked silence."Now where was I? Ah my grand entrance."
"Just who do you think you are?" Yukari, looking as scared and unnerved by the new arrival as the others, was the one who asked, taking a step back in instinct when Shikaku turned his attention to her.
In response grinned at them, enjoying the unease practically radiated by them.
The worst off was seemingly Tsukune, who still felt fatigued by the use of dying will, barely able to stop himself from trembling. This guy, he was different from anyone else they faced before. Not just the sheer aura of danger radiating from him, after all he wouldn't be the first person intending to harm or even kill them. It was the anticipation, the killing intent washing over them, threatening to drown them in it.
It was different from when they first faced Gin in his monster form. The man radiated a subtler sense of danger, a refined bloodlust, Tsuna called it, when he questioned him later. Shikaku showed no such restraint, letting all of it out as he grinned at them in sadistic anticipation. He wanted to hurt them, to kill them and had no intention of holding back.
His hand trembled terribly as he grabbed his container of dying will, Tsuna's warning ranging in his ears. Despite that, he knew as a human he was too fragile to have any chance of actually standing up to him, he needed the power of dying will. Without that, he will definitely...
He was shaken out of his thoughts by someone tugging on his arm. Looking down, he saw it was Lambo, even though the younger kid didn't look at him, his eyes never leaving Shikaku.
"Don't worry Tsukune. This time, I will protect you guys." he softly promised before he reached into his pockets and pulled out two familiar looking horns that he placed on his head.
"You will protect them? That's rich coming from Sawada's weakest guardian. What are you going to do brat? Cry? Maybe have your older version to try and stop me?" Shikaku, who heard him, asked in a mocking tone, laughing to himself.
Lambo didn't give him the satisfaction of an answer, only glaring at him as small currents of lightning ran through his form, readying himself to battle. The others on the other hand, latched into one important piece of information that was let out.
"Wait, what does Tsuna have to do with anything?" Kurumu asked in a perplexed look as she hanged onto Moka.
Despite the poison slowly losing its effectiveness and allowing her to move, she was still unsteady on her feet, needing Moka's support to even stand up. Yukari stood in front of them, ready to defend on them, despite how scared she looked. Tsukune and Lambo were next to them, the former having a foreboding feeling in his gut.
Hearing the question Shikaku couldn't help but laugh. He laughed without a slightest care, his voice filling the clearing. It seemed to go on for a while, a lot longer than it should be warranted, prompting Kurumu to angrily cut him off.
"Just what's so funny?" she demanded, raising her hand to point at him accusingly. Her arm shook a little from the sudden movement but she was able to hold it up firmly.
"You, you are funny. Guess that tricky former heir doesn't trust you that much. Maybe you matter to him less than we thought? No matter, you will still die." his psychotic smile made all of them take another step back. In response he walked closer to them."But don't worry, it's nothing personal. My name is Shikaku and my group have a little bit of business with Sawada. That bimbo was just a convenient bargaining chip but with all of you lined up, I have so many choices. Maybe I will kill a few of you now, to pass the time."
"Bargaining chips?" Moka asked with growing dread, not helped by the warnings of her other self.
If they were connected to Tsuna, does it mean they were humans? Or at least know of the hidden world that the otherwise aloof teen belonged to? They obviously wanted something from him if they went so far to go after Kururmu and by extension them. And what did he mean by former heir? But the worst was the hurt that she felt, asking herself why couldn't he tell them any of this?
"I see. So you are one of the blackmailers after Tsuna-nii." Lambo confirmed to himself. His voice was calm and controlled but a simple look on his face showed how enraged he was.
"Blackmail? Sure let's go with that." Shikaku's smirk widened as he decided to share another piece of interesting trivia with them."We will take everything of value from him that we can use for ourselves but no matter how much or how little he struggles he will be killed, that's all. That is the way both of our worlds, the strong survive, while the weak are killed. He no longer has the protection of his family behind him, so he is easy pickings. As I said nothing personal."
The girls and Tsukune gasped in shock. While a few students attacked them in the school before, none of them with the intent to kill or at least none of them seemed to have the strength to do so. But this Shikaku felt stronger than them and was too confident in his victory. And more than that, he seemed to know more about their brown-haired friend than themselves which was not a positive thought to have.
Before anyone could do anything harsh, all of their attention turned to Lambo who suddenly began to laugh to himself. It was not a happy laugh, it was full of anger and rage, something none of them saw in him before. It was an eye opening, since they hardly knew much more about Lambo than his big brother, maybe even less.
"Lambo?" Yukari called out to him, suddenly worried for her somewhat friendly rival for the honor of being the younger sibling of Tsuna.
"Do you honestly think you are the first ones to be after Tsuna-nii's life." he said instead, after he managed to gain control of himself."Well you are not. You won't be the last either and you won't succeed. You made the mistake of trying to attack his friends and it will be your last. Whatever trap you may have set for him will not be able to hold my big brother. Meanwhile I will be your opponent." he declared boldly, looking much older and mature than he usually appeared and it couldn't be attributed to the bazooka either this time.
"We will see how confident he will be when I show him your corpse." Shikaku said with a malevolent grin as he grabbed the top of his uniform, ripping it off his body, showing a lithe but chiseled chest.
All the girls had to withhold a blush at the sight. Despite being their enemy and by his attitude an absolute scumbag, Shikaku at least had an attractive body going for him and out of the three girls, two were hormonal teenagers and Yukari was simply Yukari. Meanwhile Tsukune, who started to gain a little muscle thanks to Tsuna's tortu-, ahem, training, could only feel a little jealous.
Before their eyes, the smaller teen's body changed. His skin turned a deep shade of red, his muscles bulged out slightly as if they could barely contain themselves inside his body, his hair turned even spikier black, with two large horns grew out of his forehead, facing forward. Large fangs growing out of his mouth, his face defaulting into a snarling expression.
"He is an oni." Yukari said with realization as they watched Shikaku shed his human disguise to regain his full power.
While one might think it was a bit stupid and naive to simply watch him transform and not ttrying to defeat him at this moment of vulnerability, it was far from truth. For normal and weaker monsters the transformation barely lasted a second, leaving them relatively safe from a sneak attack like that.
For stronger monsters, it could take several seconds, depending how strong they were, how used they were changing between their two forms and skill in manipulating the youkai's inherent power that is often described as a sort of aura. Their human forms were basically them lowering their basic powers to a minimum where they wouldn't destroy or hurt the overly humans or everyday objects and help them blend in the human world. Of course it wasn't foolproof, depending on the strength and experience of the youkai in question, there could be moments where a loss of control could happen, see Moka and her occasional burst of superhuman strength.
Because they keep their power at a minimum in human form, when they do release it and take their natural form, an explosion of sheer power accompanies them as they adapt, which acts as a natural defense barrier for the duration of that vulnerable state, a phenomenon that also occurs whenever Moka's seal was released.
His transformation finished, Shikaku experimentally flexed his hands into fists, smirking at the sudden surge of power he felt course through him. It felt intoxicating.
"It's been a while since I had an opportunity to shed that pitiful form. It feels good to let loose." he commented to himself before looking up and smirked at the obvious trepidation on most of their faces."I have no need to use my full power against you to end it in a moment but unfortunately, I always loved to play with my food." he informed them with a sadistic grin. He shoved his hands into his still intact pants' pockets, clearly not about to take them seriously.
"Okay, I get that he is an oni, but one a one to ten scale how screwed are we." Tsukune asked in a low voice.
Without the dying will he was admittedly the weakest of them and he had the feeling that if Shikaku and whoever else with him knew about Tsuna's past as he implied, they probably knew he was human too. Things didn't seem to bode well for them and they didn't have too many options.
"I would say around six or seven. Oni are strong. Not as much as vampires but they are still in the higher echelons as far as natural strength of youkai are concerned. Their hide is extremely hard to get through and they had an ungodly amount of endurance." the witch answered, the most knowledgeable on various youkais out of all of clutched her wand to chest but did not back down.
"So we are really in a tight spot and we don't even have Tsuna to release Moka's seal. Got it." Tsukune nodded as he finally pulled out the container of dying will pills, his decision made.
It wasn't like before. Unlike when they faced Gin or Kurumu this guy meant serious business and with their options limited, it was time to be reckless. Tsuna's warning rang in his head and he would have lied if he told that he wasn't afraid, because he was but it was something he needed to do. Without the dying will he would be a liability anyways, and deep in his heart, he still held out hope it was one of those times when the mysterious teen exaggerated instead of being truthful.
He was just about to pick out a single pill when Lambo's voice stopped him in his tracks.
"Don't worry Tsukune, I got this." the kid, because in the end Lambo was still just a kid, told him confidently.
For the first time since Shikaku appeared, Lambo took his eyes off of him, to look back and smile back at Tsukune and the girls. He was confident despite being the youngest of them all, and the tense stance of his body.
Green colored lightning came from his horns that soon spread to the rest of his body. His hair puffed at a little but otherwise there was no harmful effect of it. His eyes flowed with a similar green color and he seemed to emit a certain feeling of power that somehow made all of them more at ease.
"Everything will be alright. My big brother isn't the sort of person to leave his friends to fend themselves. I know that all of this is a part of his plan and he will come through. Until then I will be one to take on Shikaku." he told them with a big smile, before turning back to his opponent.
"Huh. Some sort of plan it is." the oni scoffed as he cracked his neck, preparing for a fight. "Admit it kid, the former Vongola is way over his head, no way he could defeat both Saru and Mei. Even if he could, he still couldn't arrive here to save the day before I finish all of you off. And believe me, I will."
Despite the declaration, the former lightning guardian looked more amused than anything.
"It just shows you really know nothing of Tsuna-nii. He is the kind of person to reveal his true self when he is backed into a corner. Until then, I will be your opponent."
Lambo pulled out a small ring out of his pocket that looked remarkably similar to the one Tsuna had, only it had the head of a bull instead of a lion in the center of it. The ring lit up with similar green lightning, it began glowing before a moment later a box animal, similar to Natsu appeared next to the grinning hitman.
It was a large black bull that was covered in armor with a strange crest on his helmet. He was large, easily dwarfing Lambo and Yukari, the shortest of their group. His eyes were green similar in shade to Lambo's and he was covered in green lightning to the point that his black fur appeared to be green.
Lambo's box animal huffed angrily as he stared down Shikaku who didn't appear to be frightened in the least. On the other hand, the others with Lambo's exception were looking at the large bull with astonishment.
"Is that paralysis comes with side effects or I'm really seeing a large bull coming out of Lambo's ring?" Kurumu asked as she tried to wrap her head with the events happening right now and finding herself come a little short. It was a long day.
"He is just like Natsu." Yukari found herself commenting in awe as she watched the majestic animal stare down the oni who returned it challengingly.
For a long moment, no one moved, no words were uttered between them, the only sounds were the muffled cries of Nagare and the lightning cracking around the forms of Lambo and his bull partner. They were done talking, Shikaku apparently had enough of humoring them and was ready to make good on his word, by beating them to an inch of their lives or even further. Tsukune braced himself, not letting go of the dying will in case he ended up needing it but still couldn't help but find himself slightly trembling in trepidation.
For some reason, even in this moment of life and death, Tsukune's brain still had spare brain cells to complain about feeling a bit chilly in nothing but his underwear. He blamed Tsuna for it, because he was convinced that the teen was responsible for some reason.
"I may be the weakest of Tsuna-nii's guardians but it does not make me weak." Lambo declared as he lowered himself into a charging stance."Gyudon! Let's show him not to take us lightly."
The bull lowered his head in response, the lightning around him intensifying as he suddenly charged forward with a speed that belied his massive frame.
"Don't disappoint me brat." the red-haired teen bragged with a cocky smirk as he stood in place, making no move to dodge the attack that was coming.
Just as the bull was about to crash into him, he thrust his hands and grabbed hold of the horns pointed at him. His muscles bulged and he strained to hold off the massive amount of force that slammed into him, his heels digging into a ground, he carved a two wide trench into it as he was pushed back several feets before finally Gyudon's charge was stopped, leaving the bull to roar angrily as he shook his head around, trying to free his horns from Shikaku's grip.
He didn't get out of it either. Since Gyudon was surrounded by lightning, a large amount of voltage went through his arms and the rest of his body, shocking him as he struggled to keep his already strained muscles from moving involuntarily. He let out light grunts of pain as he kept the bull in place, a slow trickle of blood stained Gyudon's horns where the lightning powered attack managed to break through at least his skin.
Despite that, the oni looked far from defeated, though his cocky grin transformed into an annoyed grimace.
"So that's the lightning type dying will's property, hardening." he cracked a grin as he examined the bloodied horns, even as the bull continued to struggle."Not bad, I have to admit it. To think you could make me bleed. It may even be worth killing you last."
"Lightning type?" Tsukune echoed in a confused tone, having never heard of it.
Since when did dying will flames have types? And was Lambo always able to use it? And just how did a youkai know about Tsuna's secrets that he refused to tell even to them? What about that strange talk about an heir and family? Just how many more secrets Tsuna had?
He didn't want to think about it before but Tsuna was always so tight-lipped with everything involving his past and while he didn't want to push before, it was no longer avoidable. He resolved if they get out of this alive, he would no longer remain silent.
When they got out, he amended just as quickly, hoping to stay as positive as possible. After all, Lambo was pushing Shikaku back just fine and he was only just starting up.
"Don't underestimate me, brat. You may have surprised me but it will not be enough to defeat me." as if wanting to crush his hopes, Shikaku spoke up, as he began to push back Gyudon, despite the bull's massive size and strength. He raised his head up to look at Lambo with a smirk when he noticed something."Where did the brat go?"
At the least moment, Shikaku noticed Lambo charging at him from the side, his head lowered, similar to a bull's. It was quite a clever plan, with him fighting with Gyudon, he was occupied enough to not be able to dodge effectively. If he noticed it a moment later, it could have become a direct hit, probably ending the fight then and there.
Unfortunately he noticed it just in time to counter.
With a roar, Shikaku started to pull on the horns in his hands, instead of pushing, causing the bull to lose his footing, giving the oni the upper hand. Showing off his superhuman strength, with a yell he raised Gyudon above the ground, his muscles appearing somewhat larger as he let his aura aid in overpowering the box animal. With the bull above ground, with a grunt he threw him at the charging Lambo, who let out a curse at seeing his partner flying toward him.
He quickly jumped to the side to avoid the bull thrown at him but he showed a certain kind of experience, because he was able to run toward Shikaku without having to break off his attack.
Still, the whole diversion provided a slight opening, Shikaku jumping back to avoid Lambo by a hair's breadth. The corner of one of his horns still caught him, sending an uncomfortable jolt of electricity through his body and drawing a thin line across his chest.
Lambo still ran for a few feet before slowing down and finally stopping. He was slightly panting ,the lightning covering him receding to a minimum as he turned toward his opponent, his gaze defiant.
"You were so close but guess you just didn't make the cut. My turn. Try not to die too soon." Shikaku had a wicked grin on his face as he made a step toward him but looked down in confusion when he felt his foot bump into something."What the-?"
Looking down he saw a pink grenade laying in front of him. Looking around his eyes widened as he saw around half a dozen of them around him, all of them missing the pins that were responsible for arming them. He looked up at Lambo, catching him with a smug smirk as he held up his hand full of those affromentined pins.
He didn't have time to try and jump away, only to curse with rage written all over his face.
"Son of a-" that's as far as he got before the grenades exploded and his form was swallowed up by the resulting smoke.
The large explosion rang through the clearing. It seemed Lambo was using stronger explosives than usual because Tsukune and the others had to shield their ears and faces from the sheer noise and heat generated.
After the heat died down somewhat, they looked back where they saw Shikaku last but they could see no sign of him, their view obscured by the smoke. Gradually the smoke began to drift away, revealing that the grenades made a smaller crater around the oni's last known position.
"Did Lambo get him?" Kurumu was the one who mustered up the courage to mumble out a question, though even she didn't feel like raising her voice any higher.
"I think so." Yukari hesitantly answered as she used her hat, to keep the dust out of her eyes.
Tsukune couldn't answer, his body shook as he looked ahead of him, watching with nervousness. This was an entirely different plane than the fights he participated in before. The very air felt heavy and he felt like if he made one wrong move, he wouldn't live to regret it.
He thought that he was getting used to getting into fights, since being trained by Tsuna and the almost daily random monster attack. But for all this supposed experience, those fights were like playground fights between little kids, compared to this.
Was this the world of youkai he inadvertently stepped in? No, it wasn't that. He lived among the supposed monsters who were in reality just teenagers with a few shocking quirks for months now. So, was this the world that Tsuna belonged to? The world he did his best to keep them out of, even if he was already part of it since he got hit by the first dying will bullet?
Thinking back on it, the harshness of his training and Tsuna's cryptic words gained a whole new meaning. Was he truly ready for it, or was he gonna tumble around in the dark? It suddenly felt too much for the poor human who lived a painfully average life until now.
Was this what he really wanted?
Oblivious of Tsukune's worries, the others sighed in relief, feeling as if the battle was already over. Yukari, her hands still trembling slightly lowered her wand, while Moka and Kurumu shared hesitant smiles. Their earlier argument didn't even occur to them, rather they were happy to still have each other.
The only one who didn't seem to lower his guard was Lambo who was still standing in his previous position, lightning crackling around him as he kept his eyes on the diminishing smoke screen. When he was younger he would have been the first to celebrate prematurely but just like Tsuna and his other guardians he also grew in his own way. He couldn't afford to not be cautious right now.
And it looked like it wasn't a mistake to do so.
A single foot appeared out of the smoke, followed by another as Shiakue walked out of the small crater. His pants and upper body were signed but there was no significant damage visible on him. What was easily apparent that he was pissed off big time.
"Crap." it was Tsukune who was able to sum up all of their thoughts.
Shikaku ignored them as he turned toward Lambo who quietly cursed as lightning once again intensified around him.
"I know I said I will play with you but I am also a hot-tempered and impatient person so screw that." the calm tone that he started out quickly disappeared as Shikaku practically snarled at the former lightning guardian."You are definitely weaker than me but if I get careless I can get defeated even by weaklings like you. So screw this whole thing. Screw that Vongola brat, screw waiting for Saru, screw the whole mafia. I'm killing you one by one and I will enjoy it to the fullest. Starting with you." he roared as he pointed a finger at Lambo, as the aura of power around him became stronger.
Lambo didn't back down, even if he still looked slightly winded and there was no hiding the apprehension on his face.
"Gyudon! Let' go for another one." he called out to his box animal, who responded with a loud roar as both of them lowered their heads to charge.
"It didn't work the first time, why do you think it would be different? Not like I wish to step in the way of your idiocy. Come at me, brat." Shikaku taunted him as he once again lowered himself a more stable stance, seemingly intent on stopping the attack in its tracks one more time.
Lambo happily obliged, the lightning around him once again concentrated in his horns as he began to charge toward the oni, Gyudon doing the same from the other side. It seemed it would play out similarly than before, with Shikaku planning to stop one of the attacks and use it to send the second one off-course.
That's why all of them were shocked when out of nowhere he charged at Gyudon, a savage grin on his face. He was surprisingly fast, not near Gin's werewolf speed, or even the close to superhuman speed Moka in her released state tended to show but still faster than most of their group.
Reaching the bull, he punched forward, hitting him straight between his horns. To further shock the watchers, instead of the punch being either ineffective or simply stopping the charge, Gyuodon let out a cry as he was blasted back several feet and fell on his side.
"Gyudon!" Lambo cried out in worry, seeing his partner in trouble and he gritted his teeth as he came at Shikaku from the side, intent on landing his attack this time."Take this! Electrico cornata!" he roared as he thrust his horned head forward.
His opponent only smirked as he let Lambo get near him but just before the attack could make contact he raised his leg and sent a powerful kick at Lambo's side that launched him toward the tree, only stopping when he crashed into its base.
"Lambo!" Moka cried out in worry as she saw the young human going down and not getting up immediately. If she wasn't supporting Kurumu, she would have ran to him, though it was doubtful she could have done much in her current form.
"Oi, oi, that was it? I told you not to underestimate me brat, I was done going easy on you." Shikaku called out to Lambo but all he got was a pained groan in return as he tried to stand up but it was difficult. Shikaku scoffed as he turned to Tsukune and the others."What a letdown. Oh well. Who's next?"
Gyudon lay on his side, the helmet on his cracked and the lightning covering him disappearing. The bull let out a mournful moo before his body became that strange green lightning and slowly disappeared, similarly to how he appeared a few minutes ago.
Lambo was leaning on his arms as he tried to push himself up but he wasn't in good shape. Even if it was only one blow, it seemed to cause internal damage to the young hitman, with a tickle of blood escaping from his mouth.
The others could only watch in shock at how suddenly the fight turned. It was a despairing thought that Lambo who was quite durable and strong was so easily defeated. Moka's hands reflexively raised to her rosary and gave it a pull, wishing more than ever that she was able to remove it herself.
"It's no use." her other self cautioned, who could only watch from behind the seal, much to her annoyance."Your only chance now is to retreat and find Tsuna. If he can remove the seal, we could easily beat this Shikaku but right now you stand no chance."
The pink-haired vampire bit her lip, wanting to argue but realistically even she could see that Ura was right. But she couldn't just leave Lambo behind like that.
"So who's next." Shikaku, entirely too pleased, brought them back to reality. The oni turned to them with a massive grin that belied hir earlier annoyance."Or should I finish the brat off before starting with you? I mean okay with it, if you want to watch it."
That finally broke them out of their stupor. Yukari was the first who reacted, maybe because of her friendship slash rivalry with Lambo. she swung her wand around before pointing it aggressively at their opponent.
"Leave Lambo alone!" she cried as various objects answered her furious call and rose to pepper the red-skinned youkai.
At first, torn branches and smaller and larger rocks rose and were launched at Shikak but soon were joined by wash tubs and other large and heavy objects that no one was sure where they came from. They just chalked it up to Yukari's witch powers with the lack of a better explanation.
Shikaku only smirked confidently as he stood in place, dodging the smaller projectiles with minimal movement and sending the larger ones with simple movements of his hands. But still, his patience wore down quickly.
When an errant broom tried to hit him from behind, he grabbed it without even looking, the handle instantly torn to pieces as he gripped it. With a snarl he turned toward Yukari.
"Since you want to die so badly, you can be the first." with that he charged forward, to the witch who hastily tried to send more objects toward him with a wave of her wand but Shikaku dodged them effortlessly.
"Yukari!" Moka cried out in worry when the witch hadn't moved an inch even with the red-skinned teen almost next to her."Sorry." she quietly apologised to Kurumu as she let go of her and charged toward the young girl.
"You fool!" her other self cried out, equal parts of outrage and worry in her voice."In your condition there is nothing that you could do. You will only get both of us hurt."
'That does not mean that I can stand by and watch my friend get hurt.' she answered silently, with an unusually angry and snappish tone as she got into Shikaku's way and threw a punch at him.
But everyone, Moka included, knew that it would not do much. Most of her powers were sealed and her punch was a sloppy with hardly any form to it. In her defense, Ura while had an elegant grace around her, hardly needing any proper form since she usually got by with simply overpowering her foes and Omote naturally was more inclined to nonviolence.
The oni laughed mockingly as he caught her fist without any problem, closing his hand around it and trapping her within his range.
"Bold move, Pinkie. Ultimately futile but still bold." he commented with a mocking grin.
He suddenly kicked Moka's legs under her, then used the hand he was holding onto to throw her into the ground, creating a small crater as the vampire sunk into the hard earth, crying out at the sudden pain.
"Moka-nee!" abandoning all thoughts of fighting Shikaku, Yukari ran toward the fallen form of her adopted sister but the oni didn't offer any mercy.
He simply back-handed her, with a casual flick of his arm, sending her to join her beloved sister on the ground. She whimpered in pain but didn't rise nor open her eyes.
"Well, that was fun while it lasted. You guys apparently have no sense of self-preservation or the ability to see when you are outclassed. Oh well, you are going to die either way. Now, since you learned your lesson, stay still while I take my time with the bovino brat and-" his apparent gloating was cut off as a loud shout of rage came from to his right."You've gotta be kidding me."
He only turned his head in the direction of his newest challenger when he was punched in the face by Tsukune who was once again in his dying will mode, snarling at him with.
After watching his friends get hurt, Tsukune could no longer stand by and do nothing. Despite his exhaustion and Tsuna's warning against taking a second dying will pill, he had no choice. He would hate himself if he did anything else.
As he felt himself 'die' for that painful moment, he already understood what Tsuna meant by his warning. His body may have entered this empowered state, it didn't help the weakened state his body was in after exhausting himself to begin with. And while he did not see, somehow he instantly knew that the flame on his forehead was just as unstable as he felt right now. That didn't mean he would not rush forward into danger.
"I'll save Moka and the others as I were to die!" he roared as he punched Shikaku with all of his might, naively hoping to defeat him with a single blow.
His eyes widened as despite putting all of his power into his right fist, all he managed to do was punch the oni on his cheek and slightly turn his head away, unable to make him take even a step back. That realisation chilled him to the core.
One furious eye glared at him, and the killing intent radiating from the oni paralysed him, even in this empowered state, where he shouldn't feel things like fear or hurt.
"Wrong move buddy. You are out of your league, this is no longer a playground fight and you just made a very big mistake." the red-skinned teen snarling through clenched teeth as Tsukune instinctively took a step back.
Pulling his right hand back, the dying will user prepared to throw a barrage of punches this time but he was cut off as a heavy blow landed on his stomach, a large tremor running through his whole body as he felt his feet leave the ground from the sheer force of the blow.
Tsukune coughed out blood and his mouth opened to scream but no sound came from it. Before the punch could send him flying, Shikaku reached out with his other hand and caught him at his throat in a vice-grip. He made sure to keep him raised above the ground and exert just enough force on his windpipe to keep him struggling to breathe but not to knock him out accidently. It wouldn't be fun for the oni otherwise.
Tsukune tried to struggle out of the grip but his strength was simply not enough to even ease the hold Shikaku had on his throat. Soon he barely had enough air to try and stay awake and his defiant posture shattered as he admitted defeat.
With his fighting spirit lost, he also exited the dying will state, leaving himself hopelessly dangling in the air.
He should have been scared, almost every one of his friends were defeated by this teen, easily knocked out of the state that offered him momentary invulnerability and was taking his time to play with him. He should have been terrified because no help was coming, no vampire Moka for the rescue and from the sounds of it Tsuna was also in more than enough trouble for him.
Yet, despite everything he only had one thought in his mind. Not fear, but a single powerful thought. I don't want to let him win.
"You know I didn't expect much from you but you managed to set the bar even lower." Shikaku commented casually as Tsukune with the last of his power glared down at him. "I don't know what you expected after I knocked around your friends like that, it's not as if you could have done anything if they couldn't."
He had nothing to deny those words but he didn't give him the satisfaction of seeing it hurt him. A hand reached up, grabbing the arm holding him up but there was no power behind it. It was an act of defiance, nothing more.
And judging from the snarl on his face, it gave the message across.
"Defiant to the end? Well, gotta respect the guts, if you have nothing else going for you. After all, what are you? An inferior version of Sawada at best, a convenient meat shield so he does not have to do anything."
Tsukune's glare didn't lessen a bit. It wasn't anything new, nothing he hadn't asked himself. Ever since Tsuna used the dying will pills on himself, no even before that when he started training him, he struggled to not feel overshadowed by Tsuna.
The both of them were human but out of the two of them, people usually looked at Tsuna first and most of the time he was simply forgotten. After all, Tsuna had that distant, mysterious personality, he always seemed to be in control and he had the dying will bullets. Even the others in the newspaper group usually gravitate toward him and Tsukune was left simply trying to stand out.
And if you asked him a few weeks ago, during the time of the incident with Ishigami-sensei, he would have said that he resented his trainer slash friend a little for it, but that was no longer true. He realised that he was his own person, and just because there were similarities between Tsuna and him, there were even more differences, that set them aside.
If this guy wanted to hurt him with those words, he was very much mistaken.
"Sorry but you have to do with little old me." he found himself using what precious little air he had left to send a smirk to Shikaku's whose eyes narrowed at the stubborn attitude."Until he defeats those friends of yours and comes back to kick your ass, that is."
He grunted in pain as the grip around his throat tightened but didn't lose his smirk, knowing that at least he was able to get under his opponent's skin.
"Guess in the end, you aren't as much of a coward as I thought. But it doesn't save you from this." the red-skinned teen growled as he prepared to thrust his empty hand into Tsukune's chest.
Tsukune looked into his eyes, as a very last act of defiance and prepared for the worst.
"No!" a female voice shrieked, causing him to momentarily hesitate and stop before he felt all of his limbs restrained.
-0-
She felt so helpless, so weak.
Her friends, her destined partner, they were being beaten up one by one and all she could do was sit there and watch. Her body trembled, even though the poison that paralysed her long since lost its effect. Yet here she was unable to move and she despised herself for it.
Despite her usual bold words and attitude, here she sat helplessly, being protected by others. Just like always.
Back then, when Moka effortlessly defeated her, it was Tsukune who ran to her rescue. And it happened so many times since then, he was always rushing in to save her. Even now when she figured no help was coming and she was at Nagare's mercy, after how she left her friends behind, acted as if she didn't care about them, he was still at her side, fighting for her.
She hated this feeling, hated being helpless. Where was her usually haughty attitude, her cocky words now? If she couldn't even charm her opponent or do anything to help her friends, what use was she? Why? Why couldn't she do something?
Her friends were getting hurt because they came to help her. Even the aloof Tsuna, who she figured she had the worst relationship with, he went out of way and faced these guys alone because they threatened her life to make him comply. Because she was the weak link.
"No." she muttered brokenly as Moka was slapped into the ground."Please stop." she begged as Yukari was sent flying."No more please." silent tears poured from her eyes as she saw her love being held up by his throat, unable to look away but not able to do anything to stop what's happening in front of her.
Even when he was quickly defeated, Tsukune didn't show weakness, didn't bend, and remained steadfast. That was one of the qualities she loved most in him, yet right now all she could feel she was envy and self-loathing. Why was she simply watching, instead of running to her future husband's side and doing everything she could.
Sure, the most probably she could accomplish was to annoy Shikaku before he beat her but anything beat doing nothing. She wanted to help, she wanted the happy days to continue, she didn't want to be left behind. She didn't want to be left alone.
She never had any friends, true friends at least. That's why she tried to enact that messed up harem plan as soon as school started, she was just so used to being seen as nothing. Girls were jealous of her and talked her out behind her back or sometimes even in front of her and men, all of them were nothing but horndogs that just wanted her body and nothing else.
The newspaper club, Moka, Yukari, Lambo, Tsukune, even Tsuna. They were the first people who accepted and liked her for who she was, under that haughty demeanor that she became so used keeping up. They weren't afraid to tell her when she was wrong but they never meant anything bad by it.
Then why? Why was she sitting there, utterly useless? More than anything, she was disgusted with herself. In the end, that's who she was isn't it? The damsel in distress, unable to do anything but cry and wait for the rescue. But that rescue would never come.
"When you think you have no hope, no strength to spare, think very hard about what's important to you." her tears stopped as she suddenly remembered Tsuna's cryptic words to her not even an hour ago.
She now realised that he was aware of her predicament and he tried to help her in his own strange, roundabout way. Only she didn't realise at the time and to tell the truth, she wasn't any wiser but Tsuna was always dependable despite his aloof personality and all she could do is to recall his words, hoping to find the strength necessary to help her friends.
"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." his voice sounded in the back of her head and she couldn' help but hope he was right.
But what was her resolution?
To be with her Destined One? To be able to stand up and do something, to help? No, in the end, she decided her resolution was something else.
She remembered having fun with the others as they worked on their newspaper. Moka with that gentle, kind smile as she helped her out, Tsukune with that eager grin as he gave his all to his current project, Tsuna sitting away distantly as if not participating at all, yet none could miss the slight smile on his lips. Even the annoying duo of Yukari and Lambo as they clashed over the most trivial things were something she cherished, just like Gin lazily sitting at the teacher's desk ordering them around without doing any work at all.
She wanted to forget this whole blackmailing thing, to go back those peaceful days and finish their first complete newspaper together. She wanted this nightmare to end, for things to be right again.
"I want this nightmare to end." she muttered, hands clutched to her chest as she raised her head to glare at Shikaku who was too busy with Tsukune to notice her."I want you gone and to protect my precious friends." she declared, her voice going stronger and stronger.
She didn't notice it but her usually purple eyes were now a bright indigo with barely visible flames of the same color surrounding them.
As she glared at the red-skinned teen that hurt her friends, Kurumu strangely felt stronger and stronger until she found herself standing up, just as Shikaku reared his hand back, the psychotic grin on his face leaving no doubt of what he planned to do to her soon to be lover.
"No! she cried out and suddenly she felt something inside shift before reality simply changed.
Tree roots suddenly sprouted out from the ground, before lashing out and wrapping themselves around Shikaku, restraining him completely. He let out a surprised shout at finding himself unable to move, to the point that he let go of Tsukune, causing him to fall to the ground in a heap and breathe in greedily at the sudden access to oxygen.
"What's going on?" alarmed, he tried to use his impressive strength to break out of his bonds but found itself unable to do so. He caught her looking intently at him and something clicked in him because he started struggling with a renewed strength. "You? What are you doing? Let me go!"
Kurumu didn't answer, only staring at him and concentrating on this new strange power of hers. She felt hot and cold at the same time, her energy rapidly leaving her but she didn't dare to falter or doubt herself, giving her all to somehow maintain the illusion she wasn't aware of being able to conjure.
She felt as if she would blink, this power would fade away, leaving her unable to do anything to stop Shikaku from hurting her friends. So no matter how hard or taxing this felt, she grit her teeth and didn't take her eyes off her opponents, desperation and anger fueling her further than she thought she could maintain the restraints.
"Kurumu?" Tsukune muttered as he raised his head to look at her with difficulty, his body exhausted beyond doubt.
"Let me go, already." Shikaku raged as he tried to simply yank his limbs out of the bonds, with new and new roots joining, some of them even wrapping around his throat."That's it, you are gonna die first, you annoying bimbo!"
Unfortunately for the succubus, this newfound power of hers wasn't meant to last because after a few seconds, her concentration finally slipped, causing the oni to be able to tear through a few of the roots. Those roots turned into soft indigo flames that disappeared a moment later, soon followed by the rest, Kurumu losing control over her illusions.
Utterly spent, she could do nothing but stand there with quivering knees as Shikaku moved his limbs a little to make sure he had full range of motions before turning his bloodthirsty eyes on her. She didn't even have the energy to try and back away, or to even cry and ask for help. All she could do was just fall to her knees and wait for the inevitable.
"Kurumu!" Tsukune cried out in worry as he struggled to stand up, along with Moka and Yukari who somewhat recovered, as they saw Shikaku run straight at the defenseless girl.
"I'm sorry." she whispered, her eyes blurry as she felt her consciousness slowly fade.
Before anyone could so much as stand up, Shikaku was in front of her, hand reared back to punch her and all she could do was look him straight in the eye, refusing to show fear. She didn' fear him, she feared not being able to do more, of letting her friends down. But not him.
"So long, girlie. Don't worry, your friends will soon follow." he gloated with a perverse glee as he attacked her but at the last moment he had to pull back with a sneer on his face.
He held up his arm, just barely blocking a kick aimed at his head from the right. It had surprising force behind it, causing him to grunt as he blocked it. The grunt was followed by a louder cry of pain as he didn't notice the punch coming at him from the other side, catching him clean at his stomach. Shikaku's eyes bulged out before he was sent flying a few feet away.
"Oi, oi. I just can't let you bully my dear underclassmen, can I?" she heard a familiar voice and she saw two figures stepping in front of her, though she couldn't see them clearly through her hazy vision.
"Since when are you so worried about other people, Mad Dog?" another male voice, this one unfamilier to her addressed the first speaker, chuckling to himself. Kurumu was rapidly losing consciousness but as she strained her eyes, she saw one of the figures standing in front of her wearing something white, like a karate gi.
"Don't embarrass me, you fighting maniac." the first voice that now she recognized as Gin answered half-seriously.
At this point she finally lost the fight against her exhaustion and she finally fell to the ground, eyes closing as she lost consciousness.
The last thing she heard was the roar of thunder, then nothing.
-0-
'It's taking too long.' was the worried thought that ran through Tsuna's head as he carefully ducked around a large tree, keeping his senses open in case he was attacked by his pursuers.
He was buying time by leading them around, while making sure they also did not completely lose sight of him. The last thing he wanted was for them to decide to join up with whoever is keeping an eye on Kurumu, before Lambo and the others could defeat them. It was a risky gamble, using himself as a bait and leaving things to the others but he hardly had any other choice.
In his current state he didn't have much hope to defeat any of them and he didn't want to leave it to chance by taking them all with the others backing him, especially with Kurumu's life in danger. That meant he had to use other tactics, so he came up with this divide and conquer.
Yet despite Lambo being there and Natsu on his way to them, he simply couldn't help but be worried for them, silently cursing his weakness and his bad luck for his past always seeming to catch up to him.
This train of thought abruptly stopped as his intuition flared to life, screaming him of danger. His body moving on autopilot, he jumped forward, doing a quick roll to get back on his feet. A powerful punch sailed through the air where his head was a moment ago, landing on a tree trunk that was instantly annihilated by the sheer force behind the attack.
"Whew, that was a close one." Tsuna muttered to himself as he raised his head to look at his attacker even as he didn't stop moving.
When he got a clear view, he almost idd as he looked at Mei in apparent shock.
At least he thought it was Mei, because of the distinct female features and the female school uniform but other that the girl changed dramatically since he last saw her. That or he was really that dense if he didn't notice it before.
Her skin turned into a deep brown and looked way thicker than any skin should have business looking. To further confuse Tsuna, she now had four arms, two on each side, ending in claws. Understandably the sleeves of her uniform were torn off, exposing her muscular arms to the world. But it was her head that changed the most.
Her hair spiked in every direction, creating a wild, uncontrolled look toher. Her face was the strangest thing, or he should say, faces. Instead of one, two distinct faces rested next to each other, providing a strange effect, since he didn't know if she was looking straight at him or not. The right one was more humanlike, mostly the same as Mei's human form, save for the brown skin. The human face was happy, smiling and giggling to herself even as her eyes followed his with a single-minded devotion.
The left one in contrast looked monstrous, an angry snarl further ruining the image. Instead of a young girl, the face resembled more of a snarling orc straight from a fantasy novel, with two large tusk-like fangs protruding out of her mouth. If he needed to pick an emotion that aptly described that face, it would be rage.
"That's new." he muttered, Mei's faces instantly zeroing in his position. In hindsight, talking to himself was not the wisest thing to do in this situation.
"Tsuna-kun! There you are. I was afraid you didn't want to play with us." the happy, human face greeted him like they were old friends, even aas her arms tensed. A moment later, he angry face took over, her voice deep and threatening."Stay where you are so I can tear you apart, from limb to limb. I promise it won't hurt." her happy face once again took over the talking, sounding apologetic."I will hurt a lot but you probably stop feeling anything after a while." she consoled.
It seemed not only her face but her personality was also split into two, that kind of made sense of her earlier changes of attitude. Talk about bipolar.
Tsuna wasn't given much time to contemplate, because Mei was already rushing him, her right hands reared back ready to pulverize him. Both of her faces smiled in his direction, one more psychotic than the other.
Instead of panicking he took a deep breath, watching as she charged at him, waiting for the perfect moment to make his move. While her speed was hard to deal with in a straight fight, thanks to their earlier game of cat and mouse he got used to it enough that he could estimate the speed of her responses correctly. Add with his intuition guiding him and the terrain around them, while he couldn't outrun her, in this dense forest it was working in his favor.
At the last possible moment he dived to the left, feeling the air disturbed behind his head by the blow that he just dodged by a hair's breadth, Mei unable to correct the direction of her attack in time. Tsuna allowed a rare smile to bloom on his face as he prepared to run once again when his danger senses flared up once more.
He looked to his side, seeing a large arm made of rock coming for him but it was too late to dodge or try and change his momentum. Gritting his teeth, all he could do was to hold his arms in front of him, planning to block most of the attack.
He was hit by a truck before, or even things larger and heavier than that but most of those time he was either in dying will mode or in hyper dying will mode so he could as well as discount them. This time, he felt the impact had on and he was pretty sure the bones in his forearms cracked.
He was also sent flying, thankfully not crashing into any of the trees in the direction he was sent, instead he found himself landing in a familiar clearing. As he slowed down, he quickly placed his hand to the ground, using the impromptu handstand to right himself and land not far away, grunting at the less than elegant landing and the pain coming from his arms.
He looked down, seeing the bruises already showing on his arms. Other than that, he was relatively unharmed save for the small scraped littering his body from playing hide and seek in the forest with a very determined seeker. He also felt his body burn a little from the exercise, but he refrained from trying to unconsciously use his flames, lest the poison's effects worsen.
"Give up former Vongola Decimo." the large, rocklike form of Saru intoned emotionlessly as he strode out of the forest, not looking tired at all despite spending more than a few minutes chasing the human. Next to him Mei hopped excitedly in place her four arms waving around without any visible control or cohesion yet somehow avoiding hurting herself."You are clearly beaten, there no need to prolong the inevitable if you submit now I promise we will give you a quick end."
"No, no, you have to fight. Fight and kill, there is no giving up" Mei's angry face chanted with bloodlust almost rolling off her in waves, but a moment later her happy one took over."Please stop struggling, we can be friends before we have to kill you." she cheered much to the other face's annoyance.
"I'll take my chances, thank you very much." Tsuna smiled grimly, as if he knew something they didn't.
"Then, I have no choice. It's nothing personal." Saru told him as he cracked his knuckles but the look on his eyes betrayed him. It was very much personal but Tsuna didn't mind. It was the same for him.
Just as the stone elemental was about to attack, the sky above them roared as the largest lightning bolt struck the ground not far from them, surprising all three of them. Forgetting their current fight for a moment, they looked at the direction of the school where the lightning landed, which was suspiciously in the arena where the two youkai knew their third member was.
"What the heck just happened?" Mei's angry face demanded before the cheery one continued."It sounds fun."
Tsuma's dry chuckle as he struggled to stand up reminded them of his presence, causing them to turn back to the beaten up former mafioso who had a small smile on his face despite clearly being cornered.
"What's so funny?" Saru asked from him, looking at him warily.
This whole situation was far from what they expected. Instead of bending to their orders with his options limited, Tsuna resisted and as much as Saru tried to take charge, almost everything that happened, happened because it suited the human's needs, even when he was clearly outclassed in fighting power.
Sawada Tsunayoshi proved that he was more trouble than he was worth and it was using up the last of Saru's patience to stop himself from recklessly charging forward and kill the smug-looking bastard. By all accounts, that was what he wanted him to do.
"Took them long enough. For being so worried about Kurunu they sure took their time." Tsuna commented as he dusted down his trousers without a care, a self-satisfied smile on his face.
He gave the two of his would be assassins a sharp smile as he took a few steps to the right, his back facing the direction the commotion came from. There was still a few feet between them but it was nothing Mei or even Saru couldn't cross in a few seconds, yet Tsuna acted as if he believed they couldn't touch him.
"Did you think I would roll over and die because you asked nicely?" he asked with a raised eyebrow."I knew if you were about to lose you would use your ace in the hole, Kurumu's life." their silence was enough for Tsuna."That meant I had to bide my time until the tables turned. And that time is now."
"And what if we already had your precious friend killed?" Saru asked back a frown on his face. In response, he simply grinned at him as he put his left hand into his pocket in an uncaring manner. Unknown to them, his right was behind his back, reaching into his bag.
"Despite her looks, and general personality, Kurumu is a fighter. She won't give up. And I'm pretty sure you are nowhere near as in control as you try to make it seem." the slight stiffening of Saru's face and the uncontrolled giggling of Mei was the answer he needed."If what I've observed is right, most pure and strong youkai are much too isolationist as a whole, they would lower themselves to work with humans. So that leaves the weaker, mixed youkais. They either lack the power or prestige to really amount in the youkai world, leaving them to look for other avenues. Otherwise, youkais would be more well-known and relevant in the mafia. You wanted the dying will bullets along with my death, so you could gain prestige and power, combining your inherent abilities that already puts you above most humans combined with the Vongola's fabled dying will state. Feel free to tell me that I am wrong."
Satu in response could only grit his teeth in anger, giving him the confirmation he needed, eliciting a smug smirk from the human. It was unfortunate for them but Reborn was a very thorough teacher and that included politics, even if he despised that.
He would have preferred fighting them head on, without involving the others but his current condition prevented him from that. The next best thing was to maximise their chances to come out with a victory as clear as they could get.
"Enough talking." losing his cool Saru snarled as he took a threatening step toward."That's all you have been doing, stalling for time. I had enough. You are an annoyance Sawada, one that it's finally time to eliminate."
"Yes, we are finally killing him!" for once both of Mei's faces were in agreement, sending bloodthirsty smiles at Tsuna. It was really unnerving."Die, die, die!"
„Then come and get me." he taunted them with a confident smirk as he took a few steps back."But try not to trip." with that he threw a grenade at them.
Both of his enemies tensed, arms raised to block most of the explosion that would cause mild annoyance more than anything else but instead of going off, it started emitting smoke, their vision was completely blocked a moment later by thick, white smoke.
"A smoke grenade." Saru roared in anger as he realized he had been duped once again. "Do you think a little smoke can stop us?" he rushed forward but as soon as he took a step, he heard an ominous click below him just a moment before a large explosion engulfed him.
Tsuna, who had been backing away in a strange zig-zag pattern, stopped with a smirk just as he finished putting on a pair of familiar, white mitten gloves that had the number 27 on them. He could easily hear the angered roars of Saru even though he was sure that the elemental suffered little to no damage and the unnerving cackle of Mei.
Seems like seeing others blow up was good entertainment for her even if the one blowing up was supposed to be a comrade.
"It seems you found my little surprises." he called out to them, even as he fished out a small pill out of his pockets."Welcome to this little training ground of mine where I usually torture, I mean train Tsukune and Lambo. But don't worry, in preparation for your eventual visit, I made sure the training course was redesigned to fit your levels." a devilish smirk came t o his face, if anyone saw him they would be reminded of a certain fedora-wearing toddler."Here it is, the Patented Reborn Mine Field Mark III. Enjoy it to your heart's content."
A few more explosives rang out in the clearing as Saru and Mei tried to strongarm through the field but found that these explosives were much stronger and focused than the one he used before, meaning it slowed them significantly down and was slowly wearing them down.
"You think these insignificant little toys can stop us?" Saru glared toward where he heard Tsuna's annoyingly smug voice, rage overtaking his features. His stone body suffered various cracks and burns but held strong.
Instead of answering, the mafioso took the dying will pill, making a face as he felt the uncomfortable surge of flames in his body. An angry expression appeared on Tsuma's face as his skin gained a lighter tone as if someone shone a light on him before the dying will flame appeared on his forehead. The mittens transformed in that same moment, replaced by black gloves with a metal X on the back of both hands.
"It's not for stopping you. Only slowing you down." he grinned at them as he used a burst of flame from his gloves he suddenly launched himself into the air, landing on a nearby branch. Looking down at them, he showed a fierce expression before turning around. "Feel free to chase me if you want. But I will escape from here as if I were to die." he declared before he left with another boost from the X-gloves, heading straight toward his friends.
"After him!" he heard Saru roar before his voice was blocked out by repeated explosions.
Even as he jumped from branch to branch, sparingly boosting himself with his gloves, he couldn't repres the smirk on his face. Reborn's version of a training field was far above anything he used on Tsukune before and it would slow them down enough to catch up with the others and place everything into their proper place.
It was even worth the risk of using dying will flames and worsening the poison's effects on him, because soon this whole incident will be well and truly over.
They were in the endgame now.
-0-
Side Story: Storm and Mist
"How is she?" Gokudera demanded impatiently as he finally stopped pacing in the small room he was in, looking at the only other conscious occupant, his glare silently telling that he had more than enough waiting around.
After finding the malnourished and weakened mist guardian in front of his hideout, he gambled a bit, taking her to a contact of Shamal, that he knew thanks to his brief apprenticeship to the man, a mist user who would able to help to stabilize Chrome, which would allow him to get some answers.
Of course the man, a rather shady-looking doctor who worked primarily in the underworld wasn't in a really cooperative mood. The storm guardian no longer had the rather persuasive name of Vongola behind him, he was once again a simple hitman at best, a nameless thug at worst. Even his connection to Shamal meant a lot less than he would have liked since his mentor's disappearance.
Unfortunately for the doctor, Gokudera wasn't in the mood, his temper was already in a short fuse, since his constant worries for his boss and that was before Chrome popped up in front of him without any explanation, bloodied and clearly on the run. And he was still Hurricane Bomb Hayato, a rather dangerous hitman on his own and the good doctor soon saw the error of his ways.
It still didn't come without its cost. He promised to see the delivery of a certain shipment the old doctor was awaiting, probably drugs along with a few favors that would be collected at a later time. It grated him, partly because he hated being indebted to anybody, especially a shady guy like that but mostly because this move anchored him to this part of Italy for a while and that would certainly hinder his efforts to keep out of the notice of certain vongola-affiliated groups.
Still, his boss would have his hide if he learned he didn't help the innocent half of his mist guardian. Also, Chrome was not someone who would appear at your doorstep, beaten up just for fun. Something was going on beneath the curtains, that something involved the girl, probably caused her separation from Mukuro and who knows what else. And his best chance to learn anything was the girl herself.
The doctor granted in annoyance as he looked up his work, sending the silver-haired teen a glare. Gokudera didn't back down and the silent stalemate was broken by an unconscious hiss from Chrome, prompting the old man to turn back to her.
"Grunting like a caged animal will accomplish nothing." he answered back in a hoarse, rarely used voice. "I don't even know how she survived so far, the illusion keeping her organs has been dispelled long ago, not to mention her other injuries. It's a miracle she is still alive."
The man was holding his hand above her stomach, a mist ring on his ring finger, a small Mist flame ignited on it. The ring was rusted and barely being held together, it was obviously a low-quality one that was at the end of its lifespan but it was enough for the job of restoring Chrome's internal organs until she can gather the strength to maintain their existence herself.
"Despite how she looks, she seems to be stabilizing. I wager, a few hours and she has enough strength to wake up and generate her organs herself. What did even happen to her?" the doctor informed in his gruff tone, sending an inquisitive look to the silver-eyed teen.
The glare he received in response was clear enough that he was better off not knowing. In truth Gokudera had no idea and was waiting for the girl to wake up and tell him but there was no need to announce this tidbit. After all, the man still was part of the underworld and showing weakness was not advised if you wanted to live long.
"Thanks." he answered in a distracted tone as he looked at the even paler face before he looked away, toward the door. "I'll make a quick run to my place to grab a few things for her but I'll be back in less than an hour. As soon as she wakes up and can be moved we will be out of your hair and I'll hold up my end of the bargain." he informed the man as he opened the door, wanting to leave the smelly, poorly maintained room for a bit of fresh air.
"Of course. I, in the meanwhile, continue to take care of Chrome-chan, she will be in perfect health in no time." he told him in a perfectly measured tone, a fake, polite smile on his face.
As soon as the bomber showed his back to him, the smile was replaced by a much more leering and disgusting one as he looked at Chrome's unconscious form as if one would look at a delicacy put in front of them. His hand bega inching toward her when suddenly a large needle was thrown into it.
"Ah!" he cried out in pain as he grabbed his hand, the needle ended up quite deep though thankfully didn't make it to the other side."What are you doing?" his voice riddled with pain, he turned toward the only other conscious occupant of the room who could have done it.
He immediately shut up as he was met with a cold glare that could freeze even a volcano.
Gokudera turned back only halfly, one green eye staring him down. His body was seemingly relaxed, not at all looking like he just threw a projectile at the doctor, or he planned to do anything other than walking out of the door in a carefree manner.
It was easy to forget because of his age, his outfit and his general hot-headed attitude that Gokudera Hayato was a hitman, a hitman who survived and thrived to the point that he gained a moniker of his own. For any mafioso, not to mention at his age it was an impressive thing and spoke well of his skill, skill that the doctor who last met Gokudera when he was accompanying Shamal for a routine deal, was reminded of.
The reason he was not wanted by any of the larger familias around was the fact that he was a bastard, something really looked down among the mafia and his general temper that was hard to control on a good day. Other than that, he was a terrific hitman and it seemed time only taught him to manage those weaknesses of his.
"Don't think I'm an idiot who you can fool and use." he retorted coldly as he watched the man tremble in anger but made no move to attack. They both knew who would be stronger. "I am the former apprentice of Trident Shamal, the underworld's most well-known doctor and the brother of Poison Scorpio Bianchi, an expert on poisons. Just because I prefer the use of my bombs, don't think I am so foolish not to make use of them."
"What-what do you mean?" he asked back as he felt a shiver ran down his spine, the wound made by the needle, strangely began itching."What did you do to me?"
"It's one of my sister's less-known and favorite poison. She calls it painkiller." the smile on the storm guardian's face was enough to completely terrify the doctor."It's impossible to detect and unfortunately for you, the antidote is her secret recipe so good luck finding one. Nothing will happen to you for the next five hours but after that, the poison circulating in your blood will finally begin to act. To start with it will attack your nerve ending, sending unbelievable pain to your brain. Then, after 2 hours of that agony, the poison finally turns even more toxic and starts to dissolve you from within but I wouldn't worry. Most victims decide to kill themselves well before that." he informed him as he turned back fully to stare the doctor down.
"You-you can't do this to me. What about our agreement?" the doctor demanded fearfully, letting out small whimpers as he cradled his injured hand.
"Watch me." Gokudera growled."If you try to do anything to Chrome and trust me I will know, you will simply die. Stay put, do nothing and when I'm back and Chrome is awake, I will give you the antidote and will honor the rest of the agreement. What happens now, hinged entirely on you."
The glare he received in response was laughable, and he couldn't help but snort at it. After dealing with idiots like the Skylark or that damned illusionist, a basically noname, shady doctor whose only usefulness for him was his weak mist flames, he just couldn't take him seriously.
"Don't think of double crossing me, don't try anything stupid and you will get the antidote in time." he informed simply as he turned back toward the exit, opening the door.
"U-understood." the doctor stammered out before visibly falling to the floor after Gokudera left the room."That kid. He is exactly like Shamal when he was younger." he muttered to himself as he drew his knees closer, hugging them for comfort. He didn't dare to try anything now, simply waiting for the bomber to return and get out of his hair at once.
Outside, the bomber stopped in front of the building where the doctor used for his practices, lighting up a cigarette, his tense shoulders as he started smoking, uncaring of any adults glaring at him as he cautiously left the shady part of the town where the doctor resided and moved toward his hideout.
At least it looked like his bluff worked. Although it was true he wasn't unfamiliar with most poisons thanks to his sister's admittedly damaging influence, he didn't have a poison similar to it on his person. But thanks to a little misdirection and the sheer fear invoking Bianchi's name could cause in grown men, it seemed to work for now. Still, he better hurry back with the supplies, the less time eyepatch girl is alone with that slime, the better he would feel.
Things started moving in a direction that looked like it would end up in a lot of trouble for everyone. The Vongola's strange actions, the brewing civil war, Reborn's disappearance. He felt like he was in the eye of the storm and it was only a matter of time, until the storm engulfs him and everyone he cared about.
He had a feeling that Chrome, or at least discovered something about this, which caused Chrome to end up on the run, though how she found him, he had no idea. It wasn't a coincidence, that was a fact and that meant his position was probably compromised, which meant he should vacate that place now at the first opportunity and plan from there.
He didn't like this situation a bit. He found himself fighting in a war in the shadows, with no idea who was with him, who was against him or even who he was playing against. He hoped that at the very least, his boss was safe, while he dealt with these newest set of problems.