AN: Another chapter brought from the drafts to you. Hope you will enjoy!
"Here we are!" Kiyotsugu announces as they finally reach their destination after walking from the train station. "The place where we'll search for yokais!"
Tsuna glances at the abandoned building. It looks empty, and her Intuition is silent at the moment, but she isn't fooled by the calm - she knows there is danger lurking in the dark, waiting for the right moment to snatch five helpless teenagers away, and for them not to be seen again. Tsuna barely resists an urge to take her friends back home, despite their protests. Then, she stops that train of thought.
Calm down, she tells herself sternly, knowing panic only would make things worse. Even if we get attacked, I can protect them. I mean, I have taken on enemies far worse than yokais. I can do this.
Yes, she can do this. She isn't Dame Tsuna anymore. She will protect her friends and Kana. They just need to-
"Okay, girls!" Kiyotsugu's voice snaps Decimo out of her thoughts. "Shima-kun and I go inside, you explore the yard."
"Kiyotsugu-kun, I don't think it's a good idea to-" Tsuna started, but the boy ignored her completely, taking off with Shima in tow. "...separate," she finished with exasperation as the two boys disappear into the building. She turns to the girls. "Does he do that often? Taking off like that?"
"Yeah, he does that every other trip," Maki says, clearly used to such behavior. Kana and Natsumi nod in agreement to Saori's words.
"Seriously?" the brunette says, feeling her eyebrow twitch in annoyance, face unimpressed. Even Lambo wasn't that irresponsible anymore. But then again, Kiyotsugu-kun is a civilian, and boys at that age are recklessly stupid, so Tsuna can understand why he acts like this. That didn't mean she liked it, though. She let out a sigh. "Okay, let's go. The faster we explore, the faster we will go home. Stick to me, and don't stray too far."
The girls nod, content to let Tsuna have the reins of leadership, and the four of them start searching.
For the next half of an hour, nothing happens. No yokais are found, and Tsuna is about to suggest finding the boys and going home when she hears Kana shriek in fear. At the same time, her Intuition goes off.
Here comes the danger she was afraid of.
She hurries to the girls and sees them cornered by yokais. There are quite a few of them, but the future Vongola Decimo has no time to estimate a number. The creatures turn to her, snarling, and Tsuna uses their distraction to tell the girls:
"Find Kiyotsugu-kun and Shima-kun and go to a safe place!"
"But what about you?!" Kana asks, voice high. She is scared, but she also doesn't want to leave her cousin behind to these monsters.
"I'll be fine," Tsunami assures her cousin and friends. "Now, go!"
The girls hesitate for a moment, but leave in the end. Thankfully, yokais are too focused on Tsuna to notice their escape. Once she is sure the girls are a safe distance away, the young Decimo puts on her Gloves and enters Hyper Dying Will, thanks to the pill. She feels the calming effect of the Mode wash over her as Natsu, Daniela, and Giotto materialize at her side.
"Let's see how you will handle a little fire, yeah?" she asks the yokais, covering her fists in the Sky Flames.
That's the only warning the yokais get as the fighting breaks out.
"Mou," Tosakamaru moans as he and his siblings search for the humans Rikuo-sama asked them to protect. "They sure chose quite a place to go at night. What are we, nannies? Isn't that usually Yuki-Onna and Aotabo's job?"
"Don't complain, brother," Kuromaru says. "Yuki-Onna and Aotabo are busy this time, so it's up to us to do the job."
"For that, we have to find them first," Tosakamaru reminds his older brother. "And I don't see them anywhere."
Just as he says that, a flash of something in the air catches Sanba Garasu's eye.
"Is that… fire?" Sasami asks in astonishment.
"Or rather a person on fire?" Tosakamaru corrects his sister, also shocked, his tone questioning.
The Nura Clan knows about the girl their young Head is seeing almost every night, of course. But to see her and her abilities in action as she fights their kind… It's fascinating.
No wonder Rikuo-sama is so smitten with her, Kuromaru thinks before shaking off his stupor and saying:
"Come on! Let's go help her!"
And Sanba Garasu hurry to provide the aid.
Tsuna ducks, narrowly avoiding her head being bitten off, and turns her opponent to ashes, who dies with a screech.
"Another one down, few more to go," she mutters to herself, wiping sweat off her brow. Damn, who knew fighting yokais is so exhausting?
"Decimo, behind you!" Daniela yells in warning, reminding the brunette that they are in the middle of a fight at the moment, and its best not to get distracted.
Tsuna twists around, but it's too late to deflect an attack. She prepares to have a piece of her bitten off when something flashes before her eyes, and her attacker falls dead to the ground.
"Are you alright, Ojou-sama?" her savior asks respectfully. It's a young woman in glasses with brown hair and raven wings. Tengu, the future Donna realizes as she recalls the myths and Grandpa's stories of yokais he met during his lifetime.
"Y-yeah," Tsuna breathes out, voice shaky. That was a close call.
The woman nods and joins the fray. Tsuna follows her example.
Questions can wait. First, they need to get rid of the danger.
"Thanks for your help," Tsuna says some time later after the fight ends. Nothing tells of the fight, except for Tsuna's dirty clothes and slight bruises and scorched grass here and there as ashes of her enemies were scattered by the wind, and those killed by her saviors disappeared in a black smoke of Fear. "If it weren't for you, I would have been hurt much worse, and who knows what they would have done with others then."
"No thanks needed," the black-haired tengu says, obviously the leader of the trio. "Waka would be pleased to learn that you're unharmed, Ojou-sama. Mostly," he adds with an apologetic look towards her bruises.
Tsuna brushes it off. "Don't worry about it, they will heal. We're just glad you arrived when you did. Isn't that right, Natsu?" she asks her friend that sits on her shoulder.
"Gao," the lion cub purrs in agreement, nuzzling Tsuna's cheek.
Decimo looks back at the trio. "So thanks again."
"Would you like us to stay until your trip is over, Ojou-sama?" the woman asks.
"Thank you, but I think it will be unnecessary," Tsuna says with a shake of her head. They probably scared off other yokais in the vicinity with the fight, so they wouldn't be so stupid as to attack again. "Give my thanks to your leader for sending help our way."
The tengu nod before taking off to the skies. The situation was dealt with, and if Ojou-sama didn't need them, they needed to return to the Main House and report to Sandaime.
"You spoke as if you knew who sent those three," Daniela notes as all three bosses watch tengu disappear in the distance. "You think it's Yoru?"
"Who else would send their subordinates to save a bunch of humans?" Tsuna asks with a shrug, making sure not to jostle Natsu with the movement too much. "I may be wrong, but it makes sense."
"I agree," Giotto says. "Besides, these three tengus look familiar. Probably the children of Karasu-Tengu I met in the clan."
"In any case, I'll ask Yoru about it when he shows up again," Tsuna says. "I will need to thank him somehow with more than words."
"How about a kiss?" Ottavo suggests teasingly. "I'm sure he won't mind."
"Daniela!" Tsuna sputters in embarrassment. She feels her face go deep scarlet. "Now is not the time for this!"
Daniela merely laughs at that while Giotto just looks amused. Tsuna huffs and turns away from them, looking at Natsu. "Natsu, you should transform back into a ring."
"Gao," the lion cub whines, looking at the brunette with puppy dog eyes.
"I know you don't want to," she says soothingly. "But I don't want Kana-chan and others exposed to Flames and such. I promise I'll let you out soon. Just not now, okay?"
Natsu does something akin to a pout, but transforms back into the ring nonetheless. Giotto and Daniela also return to the Vongola Ring.
Well, Tsuna thinks to herself dryly as she takes off her mittens and stuffs them in her pocket, this turns out to be a very interesting vacation. Reborn and others are not finding out about this. Ever. I don't want them to have a collective heart attack and hide me away in a tower like a princess and never be left out of their sight ever again. Other than that, I need to find Kana-chan and the rest of the Squad and get them outta here before someone else decides to have them for a snack. And also kiss Yoru? Ridiculous. Stupid Daniela. Stupid Grandpa.
With these thoughts, Tsuna runs off to find her friends.