Chapter 30: Guardians All Together
Two days later, Kouga is completely wiped out after having woken up and training to his limit as he and Ruki were eating and then they fell asleep right after their meals again.
"Ah, Kouga-kun and Ruki-chan fell asleep again…" Kyoko says "Even Tsuna-kun and Yamamoto are as well."
"It has been almost three days straight since they started the new training program." Haru states.
"They're really tired out."
Haru notices Gokudera sitting alone at the other table. "Gokudera-san is stirring by himself again today…" She says.
"Are his injuries okay?"
"Leave him alone." Bianchi says angrily. "He's just ashamed about the disappointing performance in his training."
"He's not doing well?" Reborn asks.
"Yes… he only manages to get two scorpions in one minute…" The poison scorpion sighs. "More importantly, I wonder if that child has the motivation to do it or not…"
"Reborn-san," Gokudera says as he gets up and walks to the door. "I'm going to retire for the night, please Juudaime know.
"Okay." Reborn says.
"Hayato-nii… After Kyoko-nee went through the trouble of making tea…" Fuuta sighs and Bianchi sighs as well.
"You and Gokudera have 'that' incident between you two, I thought. You were like water and oil." Reborn says. "Perhaps it was not viable to pair the two of you for training after all."
"He's just weak." Bianchi states as she gets up. "Please let me watch over him till the end. I'm going to take a bath first."
"Okay." Reborn replies as the poison scorpion gets up and walks away.
"Bianchi-san…" Kyoko says.
"Dish-washing complete!" The two girls hums. "So then Reborn-kun, the two of us going to take a bath too."
"Nice work. I'll wake up Tsuna, Yamamoto, and Kouga. Leave them to me." Reborn tells them.
"Okay~" The girls say and they drag the tired Ruki along.
"Tsuna. Kouga." Reborn calls the two but the two don't respond causing the tiny hitman to kick them. "Wake up, Dame-Tsuna, Baka-Kouga!"
Tsuna's head slams on the table as Kouga falls to the floor.
"You awake?" Reborn asks.
"R-Reborn…" Tsuna trails off.
"I-tetete." Kouga mumbles as he sits back on the chair.
"Oh, yeah. What's the incident between Bianchi and Gokudera-kun?" Tsuna asks.
"I want to know that too." Kouga adds.
"You two were awake just now?" Reborn asks.
"Yeah, for a second… after that, I just fell asleep again." The brunette says. "But it's true that Gokudera-kun has been acting rather strange lately. He doesn't respond much when I talked to him… So, about that matter, what really happened?"
"I guess there's no helping it." Reborn sighs. "Gokudera's family is in the Mafia, and his father's a boss. Gokudera and Bianchi were born from separate mothers."
"Then that makes her…" Kouga trails off.
Reborn nods. "Yeah. Gokudera's mother wasn't his legal wife. Apparently, she wasn't treated very well."
"That's terrible." Tsuna gasps.
"That's not all." The hitman says getting the two attention. "Rumors say that, in the end, she was erased by a member of his father's organization."
"Erased…!" Tsuna cries and abruptly stands up."Gokudera's mom was?!"
"Calm down, Tsuna. Reborn said that it's just rumored, so it can't be the truth." Kouga calms the brunette down.
"Gokudera's mother was a very talented pianist." Reborn continues. "Although she was still young, she'd already made her break and her future prospects are very bright. She was also gifted with extraordinary beautiful looks. It was such a woman that causes Bianchi's father to fall in love with her at first sight. The two began dating, and then she became with child and gave birth. That was Gokudera."
"Gokudera-kun wad that kind of past…" Tsuna trails off.
"But," The hitman adds grimly, "a child conceived with a woman who was not his legal wife, would never be allowed by the Mafia world. So he officially announces that Gokudera was the child of Bianchi's mother. Gokudera's mother was only allowed to see him no more than three times a year. Her future as a pianist was also wrecked. Also, she wasn't allowed to tell him that she was his mother."
"No way… Then she was able to see Gokudera-Jun, but couldn't tell him that she was his mother?" The brunette asks and Reborn nods.
"Reborn, what do you mean 'she was erased by the organization'?" Kouga asks.
"Five days after Gokudera's third birthday, the organization allowed her to meet him secretly to wish him a happy birthday. While heading to the organization's country house deep in the mountains, her car mysteriously fell off the road at an impossible place, and they say there were no signs of her brakes being used. She died instantly from the crash, leaving behind a very young Gokudera. There were suspicions of suicide, but she had been looking forward to that day so much, and they even found a present in her car too… The Eh after Gokudera found out about this when he was eight, he ran away from the mansion."
"What is this…?" Tsuna stutters. "Gokudera-kun never said a word about that sad story."
"Maybe because he doesn't want to talk about it." Kouga states. "I know I wouldn't want to share such a past like him."
"That's why that guy said his family is all messed up." Yamamoto, who had just woken up, says.
"Yamamoto!" Both teens call out.
Kouga then pours tea into their cups and passes them to Tsuna, Yamamoto, and Reborn.
"Thank you na." Yamamoto thanks him.
"That's tough." Tsuna says. "What can we do to cheer Gokudera up…"
"Leave him alone." Reborn replies. "He's a man, let him reconcile it on his own."
"Hey, that's cold!" The brunette cries.
"I'm saying that outsiders shouldn't meddle in, right Kouga?"
"That I agree on." Kouga says.
"When you feel like you're stuck with no way out, I think the best thing is to have a change of pace." Yamamoto states.
"Change in pace?"
"Yup. I have a great idea, leave it to me!"
"Lambo-san has arrived!" Lambo shouts out as his horns are hanging from his neck by strings.
"Yo, Lambo, did you bathe?" Yamamoto asks.
"Yup! You know, Bianchi, I-pin, Haru, Kyoko, Ruki, and Yuuri were there too." The cow kid says. "You know, right now in the bath, you know, there were lots of boobies!"
Kouga and Tsuna spit out their tea while Yamamoto drops his with a slight blushing face while they try to erase all the improper images in their heads but both Kouga and Tsuna fall back by accident.
"You really are a bunch of kids." Reborn sighs.
The next morning, Gokudera gets up, sighing as he walks along the corridors to the kitchen, where he hears Tsuna's voice through the doors. "Juudaime is early."He thought and puts on a smile on his face before entering. "Ohaiyo gozaimasu, Juudaime."
"Oh, ohaiyo, Gokudera-kun." Tsuna greets back.
"We've been waiting for you." Yamamoto says.
The bomber is shocked as he sees the two on the sushi-maker outfit along with Kouga. "What's with those outfits?"
"The boys are in-charge of breakfast today!" Haru states cheerfully.
"Yamamoto-kun is going to take charge and make a Takezushi specialty, hand-roll sushi!" Kyoko says cheerfully.
"We have only frozen ingredients, but I think we can make something good with this." Yamamoto states.
"All that we've been doing is training, so I thought we should take a little break." Tsuna states.
"E-Eh…?" Gokudera stutters, shocked at how far his boss goes to cheer him up. "I-I'm sorry, Juudaime. I'm not in the mood."
"B-But we don't have enough help! I need to make enough for Lal Mirch too. She doesn't eat everyone, but she's pretty picky about food."
"At least help us a bit." Kouga says.
"Anyway, just do it, Hayato-nii!" Fuuta says as he pushes him in with the two kids pulling him in as well.
"O-Oi! Stupid cow! Don't touch me with this sticky hands!" Gokudera shouts.
After pulling the reluctant Gokudera to join in, they made enough sushi for everyone and they all finish them, leaving empty plates and the remains of the sushi.
"Phew, I'm stuffed!" Yamamoto says.
"These times are the most relaxing." Tsuna sighs after drinking his tea.
"Wasn't it delicious, the hand-rolled sushi?" Kyoko asks.
"It was really delicious." Ruki says.
"Yes! As expected from the one who inherited the takezushi taste!" Haru states as sh, Ruki, and Kyoko looks at the baseball ace.
"Hahaha! Then it was totally worth making it." He says.
"Lambo-san helped out too, you know." Lambo laughs.
"Keh. Stupid cow, weren't you just busy playing around?" Gokudera corrects the boy.
"That's not true!" Lambo shouts at the bomber and looks at the girls. "Hey, hey, I helped out too, didn't I?"
"Yes! Yes! Lambo-chan also helped out!"
"Told ya so!"
"No, you just got in our way." The bomber retorts.
"What was that?!" Lambo shouts and jumps into the silverrette's head and hitting him with his tiny fists. "Take this! Idiot! Idiot! Idiot! Take this and that!"
"Stop it already!" Gokudera exclaims as he holds Lambo and throws him into the table, face planted.
The cow boy slowly gets up with tears in his eyes. "Must… stay… calm…"
"Gokudera-san! What do you think you're doing to Lambo-chan?" Haru questions to the bomber.
"Shut up! Stupid woman!" Gokudera retorts.
"'Stupid woman? Who are you calling a stupid woman?!"
The two begin to bickers as Lambo then cries causing Tsuna to sigh.
"This is kind of nostalgic. This atmosphere…" Tsuna trails off.
"But it's kind of relieving." Kouga adds as he heard what Tsuna said.
"What happened to Bianchi?" Reborn asks Gokudera.
"Eh?" Gokudera says and looks down. "Who knows."
"Hey, you guys." Viola says from the entrance. "Come with me for a second."
"Huh?" All the guys and Ruki look at each other in confusion.
"What do you mean Mukuro has made a move?" Tsuna shouts from the meeting room. "I mean… isn't Mukuro still imprisoned in the Vindice Prison?"
"We had the same thought as well." Kusakabe states. "Jousima, Kakimoto, And Chrome went to Vindice Prison five years ago trying to break Mukuro out, but they failed. After that, we lost contact with all three of them."
"That is, until we heard a strange rumor." Viola states.
"A strange rumor?" Yamamoto asks.
"That Mukuro has been defeated." She finishes.
"Mukuro was defeated?!" Kouga shouts.
"W-What do you mean?" Tsuna asks.
"The rumor was started by the Millefiore Family, it was Glo Xinia who defeated him." Kusakabe continues.
"Glo Xinia?" Gokudera repeats.
"Please look at the monitor in front of you." Kusakabe instructs and types through the keys, pulling out a photo of a man with shoulder-length, red hair with uneven bangs and glasses over his eyes and wears the White Spell uniform. "This is the 8th Squad Captain, Glo Xinia, one of the few A-ranking members, and his skills are accordingly high."
"This guy-"
"Took out that Mukuro?" Gokudera finishes Yamamoto.
"One possibility is that he fought the Mukuro who was possessing someone." Viola states. "We have to take into account that Mukuro must have taken a large amount of damage."
"At the very least, we don't believe he's dead. That is because after the incident, at the airport in Italy, we saw Chrom Dokuro get in contact with a certain man." Kusakabe finishes as he pulls about another photo that shows a TYL Chrome wearing a white jacket, sunglasses and a hat pulling a suitcase with a man who was facing the other way.
"C-Chrome! She survived!" Tsuna cheers.
"Although, it looks like she was badly injured." Kouga points out.
"I see. So if Mukuro had really died, then Chrome couldn't still be alive?" Gokudera states.
"But, right now Chrome is missing." Reborn states. "Which means the one who directed this secret meeting was this man."
"As expected, you're absolutely right." Kusakabe states. "Hibari believes this man has something to do with Mukuro."
"Something?" Tsuna asks.
Lal looks at Giannini. "Do we have anything on him?" She asks.
"Actually… nothing…" Giannini replies.
"That is the case for us as well." Kusakabe adds. "We have no way to identify this man. The very leases I can say that it isn't someone you know."
"So he won't get us anywhere, then." Reborn states.
"For now. We'll continue investigating this man's actions and we'll look further into finding his identity as well. Furthermore, there's still one other clue about Mukuro to worry about."
"There is?" Tsuna asks.
"Yes, it's depicted in this picture." He takes out a photo.
"Ah, that's the Hibird you showed us before!"
"Hibird?" Kouga asks.
"It's the yellow bird that always follows Hibari, Onii-sama." Ruki tells him.
"Oh, that bird. Then is that bird Mukuro?"
"No, it's here." The ex-committee member states as he points to the end of the photo where half of what appears to be an owl.
"The owl?"
"This is Mukuro?!" Tsuna exclaims.
"This is also Mukuro." Kusakabe states. "Hibari felt this bird watching him a few times in Italy and became sure that it was Mukuro. Luckily, we captured at least one photo of it with our camera."
"But…" Yamamoto stutters.
"This guy…" Gokudera says.
"We gave this bird a code name relating to Mukuro." Kusakabe states. "We called it Mukurowl."
"Mukurowl?!" Tsuna exclaims.
"He's Muluro's Night Owl (fukuro)…" Yamamoto trails off.
"So, Mukurowl?" Gokudera questions.
"Yes." Kusakabe replies.
Kouga sweat-drops. "That's original…" He says.
"It's probably easier for them to remember giving that name." Ruki summarizes.
A sudden beep in the screen catches their attention before it disappears.
"What was that, Giannini?" Lal asks the technician.
"It was for a moment, but we detected the reaction of a very powerful, unconfirmed ring. It's in the vicinity of Kokuyo Land.
"K-Kokuyo Land?" Tsuna cries out.
"That's where we met Mukuro." Kouga states.
"But still, this area has some sort of electrical interference, so the possibility of it being a false alarm is high." Giannini states.
"Analyze the data on the Kokuyo Land area again." Reborn instructs.
"Roger."
"It could be a new enemy." Lal says.
"You're wrong." Tsuna speaks getting everyone's attention. "You're wrong. I'm sure it's one of our friends."
"Juudaime."
"Tsuna-san." Ruki calls.
"By friend, you mean…" Yamamoto asks.
"And if that was the Vongola Ring, then it could mean that's Chrome." Tsuna states.
"Hmm… Just as I thought, there's not enough data." The technician sighs. "It's difficult to say if the split-second reaction the radar picked up was real or not."
"What do we do? If that was Chrome, then we don't have time to sit here." Tsuna asks in a panic.
"Even we, we cannot go outside without more concrete information." Gokudera points out.
"But…"
"If that girl is really there, we have to hurry and save her." Yamamoto also points out.
"That's right, Gokudera-san." Ruki agrees.
"That's why I said we need to confirm it before we move out!" Gokudera shouts.
*BEEP* *BEEP* *BEEP*
The monitor changes into a screen full of commas.
"T-The monitor." Tsuna points out.
"What is it now?" Kouga questions.
"This is an emergency signal." Giannini announces.
"The code is…" Reborn trails off.
"It's the Assassination Squad's code."
"Eh? Assassination Squad?" Tsuna asks. "The Assassination Squad means…"
"Can you decode it?" Viola asks.
"I could, but it will take some time." Giannini says and begins typing away on the code for a while as everyone looks at him.
"How is it?" Reborn asks.
"This looks like video data. Please wait a bit more for me to tell you."
"But wait… if this is the Assassination Squad…" Gokudera pales.
"I can't think of anyone else besides those guys…" Tsuna pales.
"If it's them we have to prepare ourselves." Kouga pales.
"However, there are a lot of groups like that in this era." Kusakabe states.
"I have it. Just as I thought, this code belongs to Vongola." Giannini states. "The digital password is the same."
"So that means…" Gokudera says.
"Vongola Special Assassination Squad!" Tsuna sates.
"I'll play the video on the monitor." The technician states but isn't fully prepared as he presses it.
"VOOOOOOOOIIIIIIII!" A familiar long-haired swordsman shouts. "Are your necks still attached? You little scums."
"Here we go…" Gokudera says twitching.
"T-Ten years later's…" Tsuna cries out.
"Squalo!" Yamamoto exclaims.
"Turn down the volume! I can't take it!" Lal growls with black aura coming out of her.
"Yes, Ma'am. But I did put it down a lot…" Giannini states.
"Listen up, you damn lousy brats. Don't try to move from that spot! Even if you receive any new ring signature!"
"Oh, he means the ring from Kokuyo Land." Reborn states.
"Ushishishi…" A voice states as an older Bel shows up. "If you stay there, you'll get simple instructions later, so be good till then, you kids."
"Knife bastard!" Gokudera exclaims.
"Simple instructions?" Lal wonders as both Giannini and Viola see that one of the entrances is being open.
"Voi! What you here for?!" Squalo shouts.
"The prince was bored so I came here to tease you." Bel states.
"You better not interrupt me, I'll kill you."
"Try me."
The shark jumps back as they end up brawling as Yamamoto laughs as always while Tsuna pales.
"They're still a group of ruffians like before." He thought.
"Hey, Squalo." Allena comes out with her usual sleepy expression. "Be quiet. I'm trying to get my sleep."
"Allena-san!" Ruki exclaims.
"It'll be nice to see you in this world again!" Squalo yells. "Till then, do you dare die!" The screen turns off.
"Ah!"
"He hung up." Gokudera says.
"T-That's it?!" Tsuna pales.
"The video feed ended. That's it." Giannini states.
"Those guys never changed a bit!" Yamamoto states cheerfully.
"Yeah… Right, Kouga-san?" Tsuna looks at his friend.
"You're right. But what are these simple instructions?" Kouga wonders having his chin cupped.
"By that, I think they might be referring to him." Giannini states. "He's returned from Italy."
A few steps catch their attention, to find an older Ryohei behind them with Chrome in his arms. "Sasagawa Ryohei, has arrived!"
"Lawn-Head?!" Gokudera shouts.
"Onii-san, and Chrome Dokuro?!" Tsuna exclaims.
"She looks injured." Kouga says and turns to the technician. "Giannini, can you call Bianchi to take her to the infirmary?"
"Yes!"
Soon later, Bianchi takes the unconscious Chrom to the infirmary, immediately leaving the meeting room.
"Just as I thought. The person at Kokuyo Land was Chrome!" Tsuna exclaims.
"We don't know who, but you saw her fighting with someone, right?" Gokudera states.
"I hope she's not too injured."
"Leave her to Bianchi." Reborn states.
"Sawada-san." Kusakabe calls as he comes back into the room with the owl that Chrome was holding. "It's about Mukurowl, and it appears he is a Box Weapon. Are you sure we don't need to investigate more?"
"Yes, because that belongs to Chrome." Tsuna states. "I don't think she would like it if we touched her things without permission."
"Understood."
"I hope Chrome gets better soon."
"You're right." Yamamoto replies.
"It looks like she fought hard against the person she was fighting with." Ruki says.
"This man strongly considers Mukuro and Chrome a part of the Family." Kusakabe thought.
"We have to wait until the Mist Guardian recovers." Lal states.
Ryohei nods at this. "The truth is…"
"Onii-chan!" Kyoko cries out.
"Oh! Kyoko!" He turns around.
"I'm glad you're safe!" Kyoko cries as she hugs her big brother.
"I can't believe you were so small ten years ago." The boxer states as Kyoko continues to cry on Ryohei's chest. "Come on, don't cry. As you can see, I'm doing just fine."
"Y-Yeah."
"So don't cry. Got it?"
"Looking at both of them, they're just like they were ten years ago. He still the same." Tsuna thought.
"Not that I want to spoil your reunion…" Gokudera says. "But how come the Varia knew you were coming here?"
"Of course they would. I was with them!" Ryohei states.
"Eh?! You were with the Varia?!" Tsuna exclaims.
"And thus, I've brought the instructions."
"They're what Belphegor mentioned as simple instructions." Reborn states.
"What was it anyway?" Yamamoto asks.
"That is… I FORGOT IT TO THE EXTREME!" He shouts.
"Wha- He hasn't changed at all!" The brunette mentally cries.
"But no need to worry." Ryohei states as he takes out a small note. "I wrote it down, in a way that only I would understand."
"You've learned something in the past ten years, Ryohei." Reborn says.
"Let's see now…" He reads his self-written note. "I see, I see." Ryohei stops and remembers that Kyoko and Haru are still standing behind him before he turns to the girls. "I went to Italy 'cause there was a sumo tournament! It was fun, Kyoko, Haru!"
"His ability to cover up things is still messed up!" Tsuna deadpans.
In order to continue with their meeting, those who are involved with the mafia move to a different room.
"Kyoko-chan and the rest are getting food ready." Tsuna states as he comes into the room after checking on the non-combatants in the kitchen.
"In that case, I'll start." Ryohei begins. "I was sent to the Varia on the Tenth's orders about the matter in question. It was around then when the Vongola Hunt started."
"Eh? My orders?" Tsuna asks.
"The ten year older you." The Sun Guardian corrects himself. "The information regarding you guys coming over to our time was sent to the Varia through a certain source. I was present there at that time. Only a few of the remaining Vongola members and the top of all the Ally Families know about this. Although many are strongly in doubt."
"By Ally Families, you mean... Does that also include Dino-san's Cavallone Family too?" Tsuna asks.
"That's right. Cavallone is one of the Ally Families." Kouga remembers.
"Yes. They're doing well." Ryohei replies to Tsuna's question.
"Yokatta!" The brunette sighs in relief.
Ryohei smirks and turns to the rest. "So, assuming that you would be here, the Family planned for a large-scale attack. And thus, our instructions are: In five days... In five days, we are to attack and destroy the Millefiore Japanese Branch."
"So we going to raid..." Tsuna thought.
"Well, that's sudden." Reborn notes.
"Five days, huh?" Gokudera mutters.
"That is Vongola's and its Ally Families' plan." Ryohei continues. "We need to get our act together and prepare to join the fight."
"But even if you tell us all of a sudden..." Tsuna points out.
"Even so, if we don't do this, who knows when we'll be able to pull off such a large-scale operation against the Millefiore again."
"It's just a matter of time before the enemy discovers our hideout. The earlier the better." Lal states.
"But... it's just that participating in this Mafia war..." The brunette looks down, "isn't really our objective."
"Our objective is to defeat Irie Shoichi, right? It's a part of the plan."
"But..."
"And let's not forget Ryohei brought Chrome to us." Reborn reminds the brown-haired teen. "In a sense, one of our conditions have cleared."
"Conditions?"
"To gather the Guardians, Juudaime." Gokudera tells his boss.
"Ah, come to think of it, everyone's here!"
"It couldn't be helped to not remember since everything else was going on." Kouga states, crossing his arms.
"Yes." Ruki nods in agreement.
"It must be thanks to all the good things we've done." Yamamoto says.
"Idiot! Quit saying things in such a carefree way!" Gokudera growls at the baseball idiot before turning to Tsuna. "To be the Vongola Guardians is our destiny. That's what brought us together."
"He just said something embarrassing so easily!" Tsuna thought.
"Well, I have other things to talk about, but let's leave those for later." Ryohei says. "Listen up, Sawada. It's true that this plan involves the Vongola's survival, and this is very important. However, should we go through with it or not, that's your decision."
"What?! Me?!" Tsuna exclaims but stops looking at how serious Ryohei is.
"Right now Vongola's chain of command is in chaos, and it's not they're completely relying on your ten years younger selves. The Varia stands firm on being the Ninth's Personal Squad. They won't back down from carrying out the operation regardless of your opinion. But it told that everyone here, including myself, would follow your decision and orders to the extreme."
"O-Onii-san..." The brunette silently thought.
"You grown, Ryohei." Reborn remarks.
"The deadline's today."
"Eh? Eh?!" Tsuna shouts.
"If you want to cancel it, I'll convey your message for you." Ryohei walks up to him and holds the teen's shoulder. "I'm counting on you, Sawada!"
"Wait a second...!"
"We'll leave it to you, Tsuna." Yamamoto tells him.
"That's because we'll follow Juudaime anywhere he goes!" Gokudera cheers.
"Do your best, Tsuna-nii." Fuuta adds.
"Think carefully, Tsuna-san." Ruki says.
"So that you won't regret." Kouga adds.
Ryohei notices Lal staring at him and walks towards the door before stopping, turning to the External Advisor agent. "We'll talk about Shishou some other time." Lal widens her eyes at this. "Now then, time to eat to the extreme and then sleep!"
Tsuna, Kouga, and Gokudera are shocked at what Ryohei just said.
"H-How can you...! You're troubling me! Please wait a minute!" Tsuna pleads but Ryohei already leaves the room causing the brunette to look at his tutor. "What should I do, Reborn? It's too much responsibility!"
"The boss shouldn't talk like a wuss." Reborn tells him. "First, you need to see if you'll have the appropriate fighting strength in five days' time."
"Fighting strength?"
"We have to make sure Chrome Dokuro is ready and that your training complete within five days." Lal states causing Gokudera to look down.
"Th-That's true. This is a fight."
"What? If's training, we'll definitely get through it. Right, Gokudera?" Yamamoto asks.
"Yeah. Leave it to me, Juudaime." Gokudera states but his voice wavers a bit.
A/N: There's something I keep forgetting mention for the last two chapters, I made a poll in Quotev that if I should add the two filler arcs from the anime or not so please, PLEASE, check it out and vote either yes or no.