Hello folks, Naintarlow here.
What's this? Nain upgrading the same story twice in a year? With only a few months between them? Surely that is a joke.
Well, not really. Though don't get used to it, I wanted to get this chapter out since it was supposed to be part of the previous chapter but as usual it got away from me. But I am trying, I swear. It's just that life always wants to get in the way of me writing in peace.
That's it, not much else to say. We finally step into the murky waters of canon and we can see Tsuna starting to shake things up. Only time will tell if it's for good or bad.
As usual, feel free to leave your thoughts on the chapter, and enjoy.
Chapter 4 The Tale of a Crow, a Cat, and a Pervert
There was no such thing as justice in this world, Sawada Tsunayoshi morosely thought.
You can work yourself to the bone but the fruits of your labor will be only the continuation of hard work. You might be an honest man but this merciless world will eat you and spit you up as a broken wreck. On and on, the cycle will continue, with most unable to step out of the role their life casted them. Be rich, be poor, true freedom might never be yours. Your responsibilities and your work will pull you down, with everyone trying to step through your body on the endless ladder that is called life, and in the end, you end up running around in a hamster's wheel with no end in sight.
One might be the boss of the largest mafia family, yet find themselves kicked out of their home and none too nicely told to do something productive instead of sitting in their room, by a forceful and surprisingly strong woman.
'I couldn't even start the download on the latest expansion' the brunette cried internally, as his head landed on the table with a concerningly loud sound.'A full day of grinding, wasted before it could even begin.'
For the life of him, he could not even imagine what he did to deserve this. After they went back last night, Chrome went to talk to the girls, looking slightly less chipper than before but he thought nothing of it. Only for him to be woken up in the morning, given breakfast, and a nice set of clothes, all before unceremoniously told that it would be a girls' day at the house and he needed to be away for that.
Not even his protests of being holed up in his room and not being in the way worked, with Kyoto giving him a sharp smile that told him it was not a suggestion at all. With Chrome softly apologizing to him and Haru angry at him for some reason, one did not need the Vongola Hyper Intuition that it was a lost battle.
Basil for some reason though was exempt from this ultimatum, blissfully sleeping 'after the long night he had'. Which to Tsuna sounded like an excuse. After all, it was he who fought those annoying devils and had to stay up to finish the even more annoying paperwork regarding those devils.
He was smart enough not to voice this. Nor to try and sneak back into his room. He knew if enough of a fuss was raised, it was inevitable that Reborn or worse Daniella would get involved.
Something that was better left avoided. As it was, he was thankful neither 'checked' on him too frequently or worse together. He wasn't sure he would be able to handle the headache they could induce.
With that morose thought settled, he gave up and left, deciding to go and do 'something productive'. Whatever it was supposed to mean. And so he ended up in this place, against all of his plans and hopes.
Something soft bumped into his head, prompting him to raise his head and give off his infamous glare. Which, in his current state, was as ineffective as he thought it would be.
His flurry assailant let out a cute-sounding meow before returning to its earlier actions which was bumping its head against him, demanding attention and pets. It was a little thing, a small midnight black colored cat barely bigger than his hand. Probably very young too.
From behind him, he could hear a soft gurgling sound, the cat equivalent of laughter, and had to restrain himself from transferring his glare at the second reason he was in this exact situation. He also steadfastly ignored the rest of the fluffy bodies lazing around or the assortment of young girls and mothers sitting around him.
What was he doing in a cat cafe of all things? To be honest, he was still perplexed at the sequence of events himself.
He didn't even like cats in the first place, thanks to a traumatic experience as a seven-year-old involving a small herd of rabid cats chasing him through all of Namimori until they were 'detained' by a passing Hibari. That left enough of the scar that until his training under Reborn began, he would freeze upon the sight of a single cat.
The only exceptions to this rule were Natsu, Uri, and Bester. Though the last one only acted decently around him when its owner wasn't around, he was a real softy under all that fur and rage. Kinda like Xanxus, come to think of it.
It would beg the question then, why he was here of all places. It wasn't even an internet cafe where he could just drown out the world by making himself busy, here he is all but forced on interacting with other beings.
Even if most of them were cats. Which might have made it worse, honestly.
The cat equivalent of a giggle prompted him to look to his left, transferring his glare to the cheekily sniggering form of an adorable lion cub with a mane of orange flames. Natsu, his trusted partner, confidante, and friend.
Natsu, the traitor who was the sole reason for him being stuck at this place.
Knowing his thoughts as well as he did, Natsu did not look even a little repentant. Instead, he stretched his body, almost as if daring him, before he went back to run and fool around with the other cats who apparently did not dislike the small cat-like flame animal. Rather, it seemed every single cat tried to get close to him, resulting in him all but getting mobbed by eager fans.
Worse, rather than to find itself scared or exasperated the way his owner would have, the little cub seemed to bask in it, jutting out his chest every once in a while. It was certainly a surprise to Tsuna.
After all, he keenly remembered Reborn saying how Natsu responded and reflected his true feelings, thanks to the nature of sky flames and their bond. Try as he might, he simply couldn't figure out what correlation could be between his desire to shut everyone out and be left at peace in his room and Natsu jumping around lively in the middle of a cat Cafe.
As if sensing his master's thoughts, the small animal turned to him, head tilted cutely and let out a small 'gao' before his attention was turned back toward the small white kitten that paddled to its side and started bumping its head against him. And just like that, Tsuna was instantly dumped.
If he was in a better mood, he might have chuckled at Natsu's antics.
As it was, he turned back to the small dessert in front of him, deciding to at least enjoy it if his fate was to suffer here. They had good pastries at least, which was a plus for his sweet tooth that he really indulged.
Not like he had to worry about people taking note of Natsu or his strange characteristics. Over the years, he learned that be it ordinary folk, mafiosi, or even those belonging to supernatural circles, people tended to overlook those things that didn't fit their criteria of normal, simply categorizing anything that didn't fit, into something it did. The power of imagination and self-delusion, Mukuro explained to him once.
As sad as the thought was, it was true. Nanimori was especially desensitized to their antics and from what he saw so far, the people of Kuoh would also barely raise an eyebrow at Natsu, muttering about people putting cats into stranger and stranger costumes. For them, it was easier to believe that it was some new fashion craze rather than a small lion cub walking around on a mane that was literally made of fire.
Ignorance was truly bliss, he supposed with a wry twitch of his mouth. He was the same, before his descent into the world of the mafia and most recently into even deeper into the dark secrets of their world.
The sound of a chair being pulled back snapped him out of his retrospective thoughts, causing him to focus forward just as someone took a seat in front of him. His face snapped to a glare, hopefully, to scare whoever tried to sit into moving, only for his mouth to switch to a contemplative frown as he realized who sat in front of him.
The female Kuoh uniform was a dead giveaway that she was a schoolmate of his but even without it, he wouldn't have a problem recognizing her. Part of it was due to having memorized the background profile of most students as a precaution but mostly because the young girl was some sort of celebrity among the student body.
Though mascot might be a more apt term.
She was a small, petite young woman, almost two heads shorter than Tsuina, with a wry, lean frame. In a school where the average proportions of girls tended skewed toward the larger side of things, her childlike frame and features were something of a rarity. That was probably the reason why almost all the school found her unanimously adorable, with Kyoko, the Sunshine of Kuoh, the only sole contender for the spot of Kuoh's cute mascot.
Yet another part of school life he never really wanted to have any real part of. Compared to that, his middle school life as Dame-Tsuna was almost peaceful.
Well, it would have been if not for Reborn.
"Sawada-senpai." the young girl nodded in a silent, reserved greeting, her white hair styled in a bob-cut following the movement. The hairstyle was similar to Shitori's, only a bit more longer and slightly 'wild', and her yellow eyes stared at him at their usual emotionless stare.
Toujou Koneko. First-year student in the high school portion of the school, a silent loner by all accounts, member of the occult research club, and all-around an average student. Aside from her popularity among the students and her 'moe-ness' as some called it, there wasn't much remarkable about her at first glance.
Tsuna knew better. Koneko was a resurrected devil, in the peerage of one Rias Gremory. One of the Great Onee-sama's of the school and most importantly little sister to Maou Lucifer. She was someone he didn't wish to associate with more than necessary on account of already having enough to do with devils due to his scheming grandmother figure.
He was about to refute her, his reputation as the merciless demon prefect ample shield should her more fanatic fans slash stalkers would take offense but one cursory glance at the cafe changed his mind. All tables were full or almost full, with most being well-acquainted friend groups. That, and he didn't spot many students from their school, which meant that Koneko had few options to sit in the first place.
As much as he wanted to be petty and tell her to sit somewhere else, he was also raised as a gentleman. Or at least as a mafioso and mafiosi, bosses especially had to know when to act like a gentleman, or so Reborn told him.
So with a slight frown on his face, he slightly nodded his head, both as a greeting and permission to sit down. Not that Koneko needed much encouragement, taking a seat well before his thought process finished running but Tsuna at least found solace in the fact that she was reserved and silent by nature, saving him from needless social interactions.
Why, if he tried enough, he might pretend she wasn't even there, allowing him to steep in his misery at his own discretion. Or at least, enjoy his dessert without someone chatting his ear off, thus making this day all the brighter for it.
He should have known that even thinking about it invited disaster in his life. Such was the luck of Vongola.
"It's rare to see Sawada-senpai out of uniform," Koneko observed her voice, a constant monotone that many would have mistaken for indifference but from the way her eyes bored into his, her full attention was on him.
He let out a noncommittal grunt, pretending to turn his attention to the tabby cat currently trying to scale up his legs, hoping that she would get a hint and drop the subject. Even at school, he wasn't known as a talker or a people-person in general and right now he decidedly had less patience for other people.
Still, a minute passed, the cat falling on its back and giving up its quest, Natsu subtly laughing at his misfortune in the background, yet he still felt that gaze directed at him. She was a stubborn one, he had to give it to her.
For a single moment, he considered simply leaving. Or just breaking down and running back to his home, to the safety of his room where no stupid mafia issues or other supernatural expectations threatened to crush him. Of course, the moment he even considered it, he felt the phantom-like feelings Reborn's threats left on him, said expectations doubling down on his shoulder even more than before.
Before he was Sawada Tsuna, he was the president of the Discipline Committee. Before he was simply Tsuna, he was the Tenth Boss of the Vongola.
There was no escaping that fact, which meant all he could do was grin and bear it. And present himself as his role would demand.
"This cafe serves the best meringata I ever had, outside of Italy," he responded, half-heartedly waving at the half-eaten treat in front of him.
He didn't indulge himself often but over the years, he developed a sort of soft spot for Italian cuisines, desserts most of all. He figured it was a sign of his Italian origins or how his life was inescapably tied to the mafia.
The white-haired girl let out a soft noise, eyes drawn to his dessert, her golden eyes losing their dullness for a moment as they all but gleamed with greed and hunger. He wasn't even surprised that her pupils seemed to have changed from normal to a cat's, as she all but devoured his meringata with her eyes.
Devils and greed went hand in hand, he supposed. His body tensed slightly, years of defending his food, against skilled and unrelenting opponents, taught him to never let his guard down, and offer no quarter. After all, at a dinner table, there is no such thing as an ally.
Maybe it wasn't the lesson Reborn originally intended to teach him if there was a lesson aside from pettiness but that was what stuck.
Eventually, common sense won over her sweet tooth, as Koneko averted her eyes and turned back to her treat. Which somehow contained a large bowl full of too many sweets and desserts to count, to the point he was worried if the bowl's contents weighed more than the petite girl in front of him.
He didn't allow himself to voice those observations, simply thankful that the girl deemed the food more important than him, and stopped paying him any attention, allowing him to pretend he was alone with his thoughts once more.
However, he did not miss how she was sitting in a way to shield her sweets from him if he made any moves towards it. Silently he applauded her, you can never be too sure what stands between you and your food. Or who.
Leaning back, Tsuna allowed himself to close his eyes. While the Cafe was full of sounds, both from the animals and patrons, all of it washed over him, allowing him to simply enjoy himself in those peaceful moments. No Reborn breathing down on his neck, no assassins after his life, no administrative duties to fight through, or some kind of chaos caused by his family that he needed to put down.
Even with a Devil sitting in front of him, carrying with her her own share of trouble, just for a moment he truly believed he might get a peaceful afternoon. Sadly, at this point, he really ought to learn not to jinx himself.
Without even consciously doing it, his eyes snapped open, and turned to his left looking out the large window he sat next to. He was already cursing his hyper intuition, even before realizing what he was seeing, simply because he knew he wouldn't like it whatever it was.
It was hard to realize how the inherited sixth sense of the Vongola worked. It didn't talk to him or even nudge him in the right direction. All he felt was a faint unease, something brewing beneath the surface, his body moving on autopilot and responding to whatever threats he faced. Of course, in his younger years, this instinctual reaction ended up with him landing on his face as he was unable to follow through with that first nudge.
Shoichi theorized that the hyper intuition in the first place was simply a product of his higher-than-average density of sky flames 'harmonizing' with the world and perceiving things on a much bigger scale. Tsuna was by no means a genius but even he felt dubious about the theory. The feedback from something like that would be probably too much for any human to handle.
Thankfully no one was in a hurry to test it, by having him deepen his rate of synchronization, so it remained an educational debate among flame experts. Or so Goludera explained when he expressed anxiety about people trying to experiment on him.
Nonetheless, all his experience with it, all the scenarios that ran through his head, did not prepare him for the sight that greeted him. Or at least not to the extent where he was able to stop himself blinking incredulously.
Hyoudou Issei was one of Kouh's most perverted and most infamous second-year students. One of the so-called perverted trio, an unabashed peeping tom who was chased and beaten by furious girls once a week at least, mostly the kendo club. He and his friends continued to persist in this habit despite his frequent personal disciplining.
That this very same young man appeared next to an admittedly cute young girl, who appeared to enjoy herself, on what seemed like a date was certainly something that no one expected, Tsuna chief among them.
If that was all, it would have been the end of it. While unusual, Tsuna saw weirder things in his life and would have dismissed it as a curious quirk of his life. After all, who was he to judge what some girls were into? That he did not recognize said girl as a student in their school was also not a surprise.
Doubtless Issei would have an easier time catching someone's eye without his reputation, something he never showed any sense of shame about. No, what made Tsuna's eyes narrow in suspicion was the feeling he got from the girl.
A subtle twisting in his gut, a small sense of danger that seemed to hang around her like a cloak, unnoticed by most people. It was a feeling he only associated with seasoned hitmen, who took countless lives with no remorse or regret. The feel of a hunter in the middle of their hunt. A black widow, slowly ensnaring her prey, his mind supplied unbidden.
Just like that, his peaceful if rather fruitless afternoon reached an abrupt end. Regardless of his dislike of Issei's acts, he was a student of Kouh. A student under his protection, and there was only one course of action.
He could already hear Reborn admonishing him for acting recklessly on his own, calling him a soft idiot. Strangely, it made him all the more sure of his plan.
After all, the Vongola itself formed with something as simple as an ideal of protecting people.
He did not need to make any kind of signal, Natsu returned to his ring silently before he even twitched his finger. The cats he was playing with let out slightly surprised meows at the disappearing act, thankfully diverting Koneko's attention for a second as she looked at them curiously.
By the time the young Devil looked up, all that greeted him was an empty chair and an equally empty plate, with Tsuna nowhere in sight.
-0-
It was rather easy to disappear among the crowd, while also tailing his target. It was a Sunday after all, the streets were full of students enjoying a full day to themselves and their friends, couples walking around ever so blind to anything, and families entertaining their younger members with smiles on their faces.
While Reborn trained him to be a mafia boss, it was not at all surprising a few hitman lessons were also included. Tsuna had nothing on the Varia but was well-versed enough in stealth to give anyone, not Varia-quality, a bit of a challenge.
Not that it was enough to appease his mentor judging by the many 'remedial' lessons that followed.
The young mafia boss almost found it almost too easy to follow the curious couple. Issei was none the wiser to his presence as he was walking a couple paces behind them, even stopping from time to time to window shop, to avoid looking suspicious or like a stalker. Even if he was technically a stalker, he supposed.
As for the other one, either she was an absurdly good actress or she was as clueless about his presence as the human next to her. Not a twitch of her eyes or fingers, no tenseness in her body. Her guard was dropped so low, that it might as well just not exist.
Which meant she was extremely arrogant, believing no one could as much as touch her. Or she was extremely strong, knowing no one could as much as touch her. His experience told him it was the former, but he was also (paranoid) cautious enough to not cross out the latter. For that reason, he already sent a message to Chrome, telling her to join him as soon as possible.
He did not look forward to Kyoko's, or most especially Haru's anger at interrupting 'their' day but there was no helping it. He was not foolish enough to go and be the hero all by his lonesome, plus Chrome's powers were incredibly helpful in keeping normal people away from any possible battles. That, and just by virtue of being the holder of one of the Vongola gears, she was a powerhouse that shouldn't be underestimated.
He briefly toyed with the idea of what if it was nothing more than a genuine date, between a human and a member of one of the supernatural races. It wasn't without precedent, heck most folklore and stories build heavily on this basis, some with less dark motives than others.
Just as the thought surfaced though, he dismissed it completely. His intuition wouldn't have acted up if nothing was going beneath the surface. That, and the more he watched them, the more he noticed the small slips of the girl's mask, a sharper smile than normal, or a foreboding glint in her eye that was gone a moment later.
For a moment, he thought that she finally noticed him, which would have earned him a most severe remedial lesson from his now mostly former tutor but all of those small gestures were aimed at the clueless Issei she was hanging onto. Which did not mean well for the young pervert.
She was reeking of bloodlust. Of eagerness to kill.
It was not something he was inclined to allow. And not even due to his duty to the school or the Vongola and his current position. It was for a much simpler reason.
He simply did not like people being sad or being hurt if he could help it. He realized sometimes it was necessary, like his hard stance as head of the discipline committee, yet he knew very well what length he could and should go with it. Never lasting damage, just a sharp reminder as Reborn would say. And he did not like people, especially people he knew, being killed needlessly, just for the sake of killing.
He also had a problem with people looking down on others, as if their lives were worth nothing at all. He didn't have a complete picture just yet, but from what info Daniella gave to the Vongola and his observations, it was easy to see how precarious their situation was. Or rather, the situation of humanity, as a whole.
In a world of myth, gods, and the supernatural, it was rather easy to conclude that statistically humans were at the bottom of the power pole. Their sole advantage was their sheer number as well as the fact that most religions' power relied in big part on the 'belief' given to them by humans, though that last part he still did not fully understand. All in all, he was not surprised to learn that not a few factions or groups among the supernatural looked down on humans, regarding them as cattle or ants at best, or pests at worst.
Oh, humanity had its aces in the hole. The sacred gear users, people blessed by the Biblical God with powers that allowed them to contend with the supernatural, people with an affinity for using holy or demonic swords of legend, magicians who made a deal with the devil, or some other entity and harnessed the power to manipulate the world around them. And lastly, the relative newcomers as far as the supernatural went, dying will users.
Though he was yet unsure how they measured up to the heavy hitters of the big factions, especially as he was an outlier even among other dying will users, that didn't stop him from making a simple decision. That he would protect the innocent people who had nothing to do with thousand-year-old wars and grudges, who simply tried to live their lives. He was under no illusion that he could save everyone or stop all the evil things in the world, it was only logical to still try, especially with the people in front of him.
That included a certain annoying and unrepentant pervert. Because no matter those less savory characteristics of his, he was still a normal human who had no ties to the supernatural and was unofficially under Vongola's protection.
His resolve hardened, Tsuna subtly pulled his favorite pair of gloves on his hands, careful not to make any sudden movements or give away anything about his intentions. Just because the bloodthirsty woman a little ahead of him appeared to have no guard up at all, it didn't mean he had to be careless.
Still, this left Tsuna in a bit of a pickle. He had to deal with that woman before she accomplished whatever she was here for and killed Issei but he also had to worry about the countless innocents walking around them in blissful arrogance. If he tried anything, it would be hard to explain it afterward, not to mention would limit his more destructive abilities.
The seemingly adorable couple started walking forward once again and without much conscious thought, Tsuna took off after them. He allowed them to get ahead, careful to keep them at the edge of his range to keep track of them but otherwise was busy planning.
Grabbing Issei and booking it, maybe even luring the other party to a secluded place where he was allowed to go out did have merit. However, if more opponents were hiding around, it would quickly turn against him. Not to mention the people that might get caught in the chase. No, if he wanted anything like that to work, he needed one more piece of the puzzle.
"Boss." The word was less than a whisper, barely above the slow wind moving around him but he heard it nonetheless.
That and the soft, familiar presence of his subordinate appearing right behind him, a step to the left as was her usual place, clued him that his missing piece had arrived.
"Chrome." He could not help the small smile that she elicited, even as she fell in step with him, skillfully following the obvious couple.
"Boss." was all she said, her voice just as soft and kind as it always was. There seemed to be no anger for interrupting her girls' day, nor any impatience over how scarcely detailed his message was.
While sometimes it was worrying how much she relied on him and Mukuro's commands, along with her lack of self-worth, Chrome was easily one of his most reliable guardians. Oh, the others were great too but they tended to be headstrong, at least with each other and their quirks could be too much even for him at times. Not to mention the property damages.
The kinder half of his mist guardian though was especially suited to leave no lasting physical damage, even cover up their fights or anything out of the ordinary. That meant he had to worry less about holding back because he would be a hypocrite if he didn't admit that he was also one of those more prone to damaging things around him once the fight turned more serious. Thankfully her powers were the perfect compliment for him to keep the fight away from innocents without raising much suspicion.
There were no more words exchanged between them. It wasn't needed. Chrome trusted him to lead and he trusted Chrome to follow his lead. With that, the two of them continued stalking the clueless Issei and his date, keeping an eye out for anything suspicious and the perfect opportunity.
And as they did, the sun was slowly moving lower as the hours bled into the afternoon and approached the evening. As the sky took an orange hue, both mafia members tensed slightly, if anything were to happen, this would be the last window of opportunity.
-0-
It was finally time.
As the girl led the obvious Issei to a secluded park, Tsuna inadvertently let out a breath, rolling his tense shoulder to force himself to relax a bit. They spent most of the day shadowing the two, waiting for the inevitable combat which led him just a bit too stiff for his liking.
He always hated stake-outs, whenever Reborn took him to one in the name of training. While simply staying put and waiting was not something he had a problem with, the tenseness and keeping his guard up, did have an effect to tire him mentally. The Vongola intuition wasn't infallible after all, and his mentor went to great lengths to sear that fact into every inch of his body.
However, in this case, one had to be blind and incredibly dense not to notice how obvious the whole situation was, in his humble opinion. Yet Issei remained just as carefree as he had been the whole day, so maybe it was just his standards that were high.
A small, almost invisible wave of energy passed over him, surprising him. For a moment he thought they had been discovered but no attack came or anything after it. It was also weak, he would have missed it if he wasn't already on edge.
"A barrier?" He mused out loud, taking note of the faint prickling feeling over his skin and the slightly ominous hue the sky above them gained.
He felt, more than saw, Chrome nod in confirmation, as she pulled her trident, even her mist owl subtly appearing on her shoulder, calm, yet poised to act.
It was a rather weak barrier but it also made sense. In his experience, the stronger a barrier like that was, the more noticeable its existence was. It was meant to keep unwanted attention away, to stop random people wandering in but would probably fold like wet paper if anyone tried to force their way through it.
Which kind of served as a sort of warning system, come to think of it.
He almost respected the tactic if it wasn't instantly invalidated by the simple fact they were already inside said barrier with none the wiser. In the first place, he wondered why the barrier covered such a large space, when Tsuna and Chrome purposely fell back to avoid revealing themselves, to the point they could barely make out Issei and his date standing by the fountain.
Sloppy but it made things easier for him. If the other party was confident enough that the barrier would elude the notice of the two devil heiresses it meant that he similarly didn't have to worry as much about his own powers.
"Put up a barrier of yours, just below the already-made barrier. Make sure no one interferes and keep an eye on any surprise newcomers." Tsuna told his mist guardian seriously as his expression smoothed out, replaced by a cold mask of indifference. "What we need more than anything is information, so make sure to note everything while I try to keep that idiot alive." the young mafioso did not wait for a response, knowing Chrome would follow his orders, his eyes gaining a definite orange glow as he left her behind.
Tsuna started walking toward the fountain at a sedate pace, his fingers absentmindedly flexing into fists as he tested if the gloves fitted perfectly.
While he used the improved X-gloves a couple of times, wearing them was still a bit strange outside dying will mode after having used mittens for so long. Strangely, it felt like with the change in his preferred weapons' appearance he threw away a part of his childhood he still cherished but there was no helping it. Time waited for no one after all.
Satisfied with his gloves, Tsuna put his hands into his pockets, his body taking on a relaxed, almost lazy posture as he continued to walk without apparent care in the world. To anyone else, he looked like a simple high schooler walking in a park, lost in thought.
Chrome's barrier was put in place in a much subtler manner, the faint ripple of power only noticeable to him due to his experience and familiarity with Chrome's and by extension Mukuro's method of utilizing their mist flames. With that done, the last piece of preparation was completed, ready for the coming battle.
Not a minute too soon either, as he noticed the so-far unnamed woman make her move. Similarly, he let his dying will flames manifest as he sprinted forward, his demeanor changing in an instant, ready for anything.
Or almost anything, he would have liked to say, because what happened next caused him to almost facefault on the ground, and even with his self-control could barely stop the wide-eyed stupefied look forming on his face.
The girl, woman, or whatever she was, jumped above the fountain, her clothes ripping off of her. What was previously the body of a young teenage girl, grew in literal second into an adult with rather impressive proportions flashing for all the world to see. Or in this case, Issei, Tsuna, and Chrome.
While he would never call himself a pervert, nor did he have the libido or shamelessness of the perverted trio, Tsuna at his core was still a hot-blooded teenage boy who was also comfortably straight. That meant, despite his years of experience in combat, he could not help his eyes wander slightly, nor his face to gain a scarlet hue.
Though even distracted, he couldn't miss a pair of jet-black wings unfolding behind her. Thankfully for his piece of mind, clothing soon followed what could be some sort of botched-up, magical girl transformation. To his chagrin though, the term clothes barely fit.
Strips of leather that looked so thin, they should have snapped already and covered so little, as if they never heard of the concept modesty. Coupled with thick, knee-length boots and various spikes littering said almost nonexistent clothing, she looked as if she stepped out of some kinky porn Manga, her assets literally bouncing with no restraint.
Her sadistic, almost demonic expression destroyed the picture slightly, radiating bloodlust.
Issei, bless his ignorant soul, noticed none of that, as he seemed to be enraptured by the view, his eyes the size of dinner plates. He also made no notice of the spear of light forming in her hand, ready to trust into the heart of the enthralled pervert.
Tsuna did, and without conscious thought, dying will flames reignited on his head in full power, a burst from his gloves already pushing him forward, practically flying. The whole transformation took less than 5 seconds, and he was already moving before it finished, despite his shock.
In that single instant, as he hurled toward the pair, his mind was practically blank. He did not bemoan the loss of his free day, the trouble that would surely follow, or even curse one of the previous bosses for leaving him in this mess, as he tended to do recently. Usually, Giotto, Daniella, or Timoteo got the brunt of said curses.
Right now, he had but a single thing in his mind.
He had a pervert to save.
-0-
"Will you die for me?"
Today had been the absolute best day, so part of him should have known that his strangely good luck would find a way to screw him over at one point. He only hoped it would have done that after he lost his virginity.
For all day, Hyoudou Issei felt like walking on clouds, even if deep down, he knew it was too good to be true. He had his first-ever date, with an absolute cutie no less. He was ready to graduate from being a boy, to say goodbye to his still virgin friends, and everyone seemed to be going his way.
She showed up, which was a surprise for sure, he half expected to learn it was some dare in the first place and she stood him up but he was pleasantly proven wrong. After that, it felt like nothing could go wrong. They carefully followed his meticulously made date plan and had a great time. Yuuma-chan seemed to be enjoying herself if the blushes and the soft touches had anything to do with it. He was in heaven.
He should have known that it was too good to be true.
"Will you die for me?"
The question was just as ominous and made as little sense as the first time he heard it. He shivered in fright, body instinctively taking a step back but he had no idea what to think of it. Nor what happened after it.
Even as blood desperately flowed downward at the free show he was given, a small tremor ran through his body. Despite his free, unrestricted view of those amazing breasts, a part of him instinctively understood that something was wrong, and it wasn't even about Yuuma-chan gaining black, feathered wings or the obviously BDSM outfit she was sporting out of nowhere
He tried to take another step back, as the unfamiliar sensation of danger washed over him but it was too late. Something formed in her hand and she thrusted it forward, and a part of him somehow knew that it would mean his death, yet his body seemed to be stuck, not moving an inch.
At that moment, all Hyoudou Issei knew was that he was dying for sure. Until he wasn't.
A shocked grunt escaped him as he felt someone grab the back of his shirt and roughly pull him back, the material choking him for a moment before his body followed suit and he quickly found himself sitting on his ass in a confused daze.
"Who the Hell are you?" He heard Yuuma exclaim in shock, mirroring his own feelings.
The first thing that grabbed his eyes as he looked up was the spear-like object that was about to skewer him. It looked like it was made of some kind of purple fluorescent light and it held a dangerous, jagged look to it. Just looking at it sent shivers through his spine.
The most important detail was the metal glove that clutched it in a death grip, keeping the weapon at bay. And the person attached to said glove.
"Yo-you're-" Issei whispered in a trembling voice as he recognized the young man and most especially the glare he wore, even with his back turned to him. It was not something easy to mistake or forget.
The demon prefect of Kouh. Or the Student Council's enforcer as some called him behind his back. Sawada Tsunayoshi.
His mere presence seemed to bring everything to a halt, demanding respect from everyone. It was the same in school too, he earned the fear and awe of the school body with nary an effort.
A part of him seemed to relax, deeming the situation as safe. Even if he was usually on the receiving end of the perfect's icy glare, he felt calm and protected.
Transforming and murdering girlfriends aside, or the strange fire coming from his forehead, Sawada Tsunayoshi seemed to ground this dream turned nightmare without uttering a single word and Issei allowed himself a sliver of hope. Of understanding all this craziness and getting away with his life to boot.
Then the effect was promptly ruined when he opened his mouth.
"Exhibitionism in public places is forbidden. Especially for students of Kuoh Academy." He told them with a straight, emotionless face, not even his voice wavering.
"EEH?!"
The previously tense atmosphere changed into a confused one as both Issei and Yuuma let out cries to convey their dismay at the outrageous man. If this were some sort of anime, they would have face-faulted to the ground so hard, they would have left craters after themselves.
As it was, the black-winged girl's appendages froze for a beat longer from shock, causing her to plummet to the ground sharply, before she caught herself and rose to her former position. Her confusion was soon replaced by a haughty sneer as she glared at them with clear contempt.
It was an expression that showed the difference between her and her act as Yuuma rather starkly, a part of Issei's brain, not drowning in thoughts of death and boobs, noted absently.
As for himself, Issei continued to half lie, half sit on the ground, unable to move both from fear and shock. His small hope evaporated as quickly as it came, leaving a daunting realization behind.
One way or another, he was going to die.