Marisay-chan finally updating this story! Apologies for the lateness! And I managed to update before the year ends! Wishing all of you a Happy New Year, seeing as this shall be my last update of the year 2014! Also, to the readers who had read this before, I think it would be best if you re-read the whole story, as I have changed a few things, nothing major, but little things like how Luce was suppose to call Shoichi, and Knuckle's name(I can't believe I spelled his name wrong the whole time!) and things like that.
To Phoeragon: You are correct! ^.^
To Umiko9692: Hyper dying will, my dear ^^ There's a difference between dying will and hyper dying will.
To 'Treasure Family': I have no idea who Natsume is *Sweatdrops* But that's the basic gist here.
To Final Syai Lunar Generation: Nope. Tsuna is a special case…which will be known why at a later time. *Chuckles* You will soon see their human forms.
To PrideViola: *Chuckles* Trust me, that was my first intention. In fact, I was actually debating the brother to be either Byakuran or Xanxus. *Shrugs* But due to further story plot, it was scraped off.
To Nekotan1999: Yes, Yuni is the Arcobaleno Sky cat. All of them are cats, except Shoichi, Spanner and Luce(Shamal too, but since he's not here…) And yes, both Giotto and Reborn can turn into humans…they chose not to however. I'm glad you like it!
To Little Sachi: Y-You flattered me…! *Blush*
To KuroYuki 34: Something like that. Read on to find out!
In Italics are thoughts
In bolds are flashbacks
*Within stars are cats talking*
~Story Starts~
Tsuna's eyes were downcast, while Tsunayoshi, or Natsu, looked away when the fact was revealed.
"The...same person...?" Luce widened her eyes.
Fon took a deep breath, "...Seems like this is more complicated then we thought..."
Shoichi pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. "...Yes. Due to an...experiment that had went wrong, Tsuna was split into two beings."
"Went wrong?" Mammon questioned. "Wasn't this what they were trying to achieve?"
"Why do you know so much about all this, hey? Reborn too," Colonnello eyed them suspiciously.
"...You will have to pay me for that information."
"Hey! Now's not the time to talk about your money!" Colonnello shouted at Mammon, who only turned his head away in response.
*...The two of us happened to be in the same holding cell as Tsuna when they were experimenting on him.*
Wide eyes pinned on Reborn.
Mammon swiveled his head to the dark-yellow cat in shock.
Noticing that, Reborn flicked his ears, *Why hide it? They will soon know anyways.* The dark-yellow cat turned to Shoichi, *So, what went wrong with the experiment?*
Shoichi bit his lower lip. "...Originally, they only wanted Tsunayoshi," He gestured to the still trapped orange cat. "To take over the body...So that he was the main controller, instead of just being a part of Tsuna's emotions."
*...I see. They wanted Tsuna to be in Hyper mode all the way,* Reborn glanced at Tsuna, before moving his gaze to Natsu. *But then he came out with a new body instead, I take it.*
Shoichi gave a tired nod.
"Wait, wait!"
The two of them looked at G.
"Could you explain the situation to us first? Main? Take over his body? Part of his emotions? What are you talking about?!"
*...The Hyper mode, perhaps?* Giotto guessed.
"Wha-! Giotto!" G gaped, stunned that Giotto might actually knew what was going on.
"Is this the legendary hyper intuition that the Vongola Sky cat have?" Spanner blinked. "He hit the nail on the head."
*Eh?* Orange ears flicked in slight surprise. *No…I was just assuming…and what is this hyper intuition you are talking about?*
Natsu glanced over, his eyes narrowing a little the longer he looked at Giotto. *...*
"Hm? It's just intuition. Really good intuition," Spanner explained. "Like being about to predict when dangers will appear, whether someone is lying, and things like that. No one knows how it was formed, but so far, you are the only one who have it."
Reborn blinked slowly.
"So that's why Giotto-kun was always able to know if bad things was going to happen!" Luce realized with a gasp.
"And the Hyper mode?" Verde pushed his glasses up.
"That's..." Shoichi trailed off, not sure how to explain.
Reborn spoke up, *To make things simple, Hyper mode is like, when Giotto is in his fighting mode.*
*Eh?* Giotto blinked in surprise.
"In his fighting mode?" Hayato frowned.
"Um...It's when you have that flame on your forehead," Shoichi told Giotto, pointing to his own forehead for illustration.
Giotto blinked again, *...You mean this?*
Giotto closed his eyes and concentrate. An orange flame slowly appeared at his forehead. When he opened his eyes, it had turned into a darker shade of orange.
Tsuna jerked a bit when he saw that, in awe at such a beautiful flame that continuously flickered on the orange's cat forehead.
Natsu, on the other hand, twitched, his mouth pulled back into a small snarl.
"Yes," Shoichi nodded. "We called that, Hyper mode. It allows the user to do the things they wanted to do just before they enter the mode, with their dying will."
*Which brings us back to the main topic.* Reborn jumped and landed on top of the capsule that held Natsu in it. *Giotto, how are you feeling right now?*
*How am I feeling?* Giotto tilted his head. *...Just like usual? Calmer?*
Reborn pointed a paw at him, *That's it.*
Giotto canceled his mode while the others were confused.
"What do you mean by that?" Asari asked.
Mammon decided to take over, "Because they will be doing things with their dying wills when they enter the mode, this mode makes the users assess the situation with critical eyes, letting them know which would be the best way to solve the problem at an instant. In other words, emotions like fear, panic, and others related to these, are thrown out. So the emotion that resides in them is mostly calmness."
*Exactly as Viper had said,* Reborn ignored the huff that Mammon made at the mention of his real name. *Those experimenting Tsuna were trying to get his Hyper mode to be the main controller of the body, although it was just formed from a bundle of emotion. Which means, Tsuna over here,* Reborn tapped the capsule underneath him with his paw. *Is actually Dame-Tsuna's,* He gestured towards Tsuna, who was still in Spanner's hands. *Hyper mode.*
"Wait, Reborn-san," Hayato cut in.
*What is it?*
"I...understand if he," Hayato pointed at Natsu. "Is a part of him." He then pointed his finger to Tsuna. "But...to say that he is actually made from an emotion? Further more, the emotion, calmness? Reborn-san, this bloody cat just went crazy on us earlier!" Hayato glared at Natsu, who merely stared back.
"Now, now! He is calm now," Takeshi inputted with a smile.
Hayato shifted his glare on the carefree boy, although he did not say anything, seeing as it was true.
*...That's why it was an experiment that went wrong. We don't know why he has a body.* Reborn looked between Tsuna and Natsu, their appearance bothering him slightly. However, he remained silent about the observation. *…As for why he was on a rampage earlier…the answer should be simple. Oi, Dame-Tsuna.*
Tsuna perked up and turned wide eyes on Reborn.
*What were you thinking of when the two of you were getting separated?*
Tsuna froze up, a chilling feeling settled on his chest. He quickly averted his eyes feeling extremely scared for some odd reason.
Spanner blinked. Since he was holding onto Tsuna, he could feel the brown cat shivering uncontrollably. "Oi...are you all right?"
*I...I...* Tsuna trailed off, unable to continue.
*...Help.*
Everyone turned to Natsu, who had shifted his eyes to Reborn. *...He wanted help.*
A short silence came at the declaration.
Natsu flattened his ears. *...Don't ask Tsuna anything. He does not remember anything that happens before we were separated.*
*And you do?* Reborn looked down at the capsule.
*...Tsuna is the only one who lost his memories,* Natsu flashed a sharp fang out of his mouth. *Reborn.*
Reborn moved his head slightly, still eyeing Natsu, at the emphasis on his name. His next words confirmed Reborn's suspicion.
*...You failed.*
The others in the room, aside Spanner, widened their eyes as claws unsheathed and clashed on the capsule. This was probably the first time they saw Reborn showed the slightest sign of losing his cool after knowing him for so long. The atmosphere suddenly became heavy, all of them wondering what Natsu was talking about, and why Reborn was reacting like that. Some of them winced when Reborn made a screeching noise with his claws, leaving scratch marks on the capsule.
Reborn stared down at Natsu, who merely looked back, the only one not bothered by the threatening aura Reborn was emitting. *...You have guts.*
Be it sighing, relaxing of tensed shoulders or eyes closed, everyone gave signs of relief after seeing Reborn retracting his claws back. Verde pushed his glasses up, impressed with Natsu. Even he did not dared to anger Reborn and expect to get away with it.
Reborn rolled his eyes slightly at Verde, as if knowing what he was thinking, before looking at Hayato. *...And there you have it. As someone who is born because of his host, his priority is Tsuna. He was attacking earlier thinking that we are the ones who hurt his host. Since Tsuna is safe, he is calm as well.*
Luce spoke up, seeing the conversation had gone back to its original topic. "Um...Reborn-kun. You seem to know a lot regarding about Tsuna-kun..."
Everybody looked towards Reborn.
*I mentioned this before. Viper and I were in the same room when those scientists had Tsuna.*
"No...I mean you know a lot about his conditions...and you don't seem really surprise by what Shoichi-kun had said."
*...* Reborn's eyes narrowed a little. *...Those scientists aren't exactly subtle with what they are doing. They are always discussing about what they are going to do next. Irie just simply made things clearer for me.*
"Wait," Colonnello frowned. "If you are held in the same cell as Tsunayoshi and Mammon. Why didn't you two escape with him?"
*...*
"We couldn't," Mammon told him.
"Why?" Yuni asked.
Mammon glanced at Tsuna, "...Although we were placed in the same room, the scientists were always very interested in him, so he was often moved to other rooms for experimenting, only coming back to the room when it is time to sleep or eat."
*...And the day when we were escaping, Tsuna happened to be out of the room,* Reborn jumped down from the capsule. *We had no choice but to get all of you first. And just as we are about to find him...*
"...The explosion."
Reborn tilted his head to G in acknowledgement.
"Explosion?!" That shocked Luce.
"I remember that..." Asari said solemnly. "Straight after we escaped, the place that detained us exploded."
"You assumed that he died along with the explosion then?" Knuckle came to the conclusion.
A nod responded to him.
Shoichi sighed, "That's where you are wrong. Since Tsuna's Hyper mode was the one who caused the explosion."
"Him?!" Skull pointed at Natsu in disbelief.
"That was also the time Tsuna got separated into two…" Shoichi closed his eyes, holding his stomach. "Although it was unexpected, a group took advantage of this and brought both Tsuna and his Hyper mode to another place…to continue experimenting."
"A group?" Mukuro raised an eyebrow.
Shoichi and Spanner looked at each other.
"Millefiore cats."
At that name, all of the humanoid cats tensed up, with some of them growling viciously.
"Millefiore..." Colonnello growled. "The group of cats that actually supports those stupid experiments!"
"That's right!" Skull held out a fist. "They are the reason why we were being experimented in the first place!"
"Millefiore?" Luce glanced at Yuni.
"..." Yuni bit her lips. "...Besides the Vongola and Arcobaleno cats, there was another group of cats that was experimented as well. They are called the Millefiore cats...however, they...seem to like being experimented on."
"They love the powers that was granted to them," Fon explained further, seeing Luce's confused face. "...They love it so much, that they decided to work with the scientists, working together with them to capture us and using us as test subjects."
"...And they wanted to test the Sky flame on Tsuna because…" Shoichi trailed off, biting his lips harshly.
"Because?" Knuckle encouraged.
Spanner pointed at Giotto, who blinked in surprise. "Because of him."
"W-What are you talking about?!" Hayato came forward.
"We have categorized flames into three different group: Arcobaleno, Vongola, and Millefiore. That's why the cats were named as such. In each group, flames were further split into seven parts: Sky, Storm, Rain, Lightning, Sun, Cloud and Mist. Among them, Sky flames are the rarest because it is the hardest to replicate. The Vongola Sky flame is special, even compared to the Millefiore and Arcobaleno Sky flame," Spanner rubbed his forehead with one finger. "Arcobaleno Sky flame has the power of visions," He nodded to Yuni, who gave a slight jerk at the mention. "And the Millefiore Sky flames has the power to heal anything...and some other things."
Shoichi gave a disgruntled look when Spanner mentioned the last part.
"But," Spanner continued. "It is still unknown what the Vongola Sky flame does, aside from the hyper intuition. That's why they are still conducting experiments…"
*Is the Hyper mode not one of them?* Giotto questioned. He was the only one able to enter the mode after all.
"No..." Shoichi shook his head. "With the correct equipment and injections," Shoichi flinched as growls echoed at the last word. "...Anyone would be able to enter the mode. But it takes time for one to accept the mode, and for some reason, you, who hold the Vongola Sky flame, adapted to it better than the rest. So it was decided, to test the Hyper mode on you."
"...And to be really honest," The red-hair man looked at Giotto. "Not to be offending...but you are actually still incomplete."
"W-Wha-!" G shot out, while Giotto stared at Shoichi with wide eyes. "What do you mean by that?!"
Shoichi quickly raised his hands to pacify G. "I-It's just that, when Giotto was chosen to hold the Vongola Sky flame and after he was tested to be able to successfully accept the flame…someone caught the scientists' attention."
"...Someone?" Fon repeated.
Shoichi glanced at Tsuna, making everyone realized that Tsuna was the one who caught the attention of those scientists.
Shoichi slumped and spoke to Giotto, "...You have only received about 75% of the Vongola Sky flame and all of you escaped before more could be done..." He cast a guilty look at Tsuna, "And because Tsuna was prioritize..."
"Why are they so interested in Tsunayoshi?" Fon tilted his head.
A look of regret passed Shoichi's face, "I-It's..." He then stopped, looked down, not wishing to continue.
Even Spanner looked away, a hint of guilt visible in his eyes.
Reborn narrowed his eyes.
Spanner pointed at Giotto, who blinked in surprise. "Because of him."
Giotto felt a pang on his chest, wondering if it was because of him that the scientists were so interested in Tsuna. But if it was…how?
"Hmm. One question," Daemon caught their attention, sensing it best to change the subject. "He does not have any flames, right? I don't sense any flames from him nor did his fur indicate any," He indicated to Tsuna. "Which means all his flames is all inside him, right?" He gestured to Natsu. "So there's no reason why they would need him, he should be safe now."
*I was wondering the same thing as well,* Reborn added, nodding at Daemon for pointing out the thing he had observed. *I have been wondering about this ever since Tsuna came here. I thought it was simply an effect from the experiments, until he mentioned about a brother. He does not have any flames, so why do they still want him? Wouldn't they be more interested in the Hyper mode?*
"...Actually, Tsuna-"
A crack interrupted any explanation Shoichi was about to say.
The capsule turned into stone and broke apart easily with a kick from Natsu. Before anyone could react, Natsu shot towards Spanner and took Tsuna by the scruff from his hands and landed at a distance away from the rest of them.
"Wha- Tsuna!" Shoichi shouted.
"He broke the capsule..." Spanner had his eyes widened at Natsu's figure.
Weapons were round up, all of them thinking there would be another fight. However, Natsu disregarded all of them and focused on the smaller cat he held. He gently placed Tsuna, who had curled up into a ball, on the ground. The orange cat couched down beside Tsuna's head and whispered softly,
*Hey, it's all right. I'm here.*
It was then the rest of them noticed that Tsuna was shaking badly.
"T-Tsuna?" Shoichi was concerned.
*Hurts...* Tsuna placed his head between his paws, eyes squeezed tightly. *It hurts...it hurts...! Make it stop! B-Big brother, make it stop!* Tears peeked out from those closed lids.
*Hush,* Natsu nuzzled the smaller cat's nose. *It hurts because you are forcing yourself to remember. Don't. Everything will come back to you sooner or later. So don't force yourself,* He softened his eyes. *...Rest, Tsuna. You had a long day.*
*Mmmp...Not tired.* A yawn accompanied that statement.
Everyone blinked as Natsu released a chuckle.
*Whatever you say.* The orange cat raised himself and let out several purring in a rhythmic manner.
The brown tensed form slowly relaxed.
Luce placed a hand on her mouth, "Is…Is he singing to Tsuna-kun?"
Lambo was getting drowsy too as the purring continued. He gave a big yawn, a tear coming out at the force of the yawn. "Lambo-san...is getting tired too..." The child gave another big yawn, before reverting back to his cat form, falling asleep on the floor.
"Oh, Lambo-kun." Luce went to him, cradling him in her arms, smiling softly.
Natsu gradually trailed his purrings off, carefully rearranging the sleeping Tsuna into a more comfortable position and laid down beside him, watching him with a fond look.
"S-Stay away from him."
Natsu glanced up, and saw Shoichi hesitating but glaring nevertheless.
"Stay away from Tsuna."
*...* Was the response to that.
"Shoichi-kun, what's wrong?" Luce asked, eyebrows furrowing at the red-hair man. "He's not going to hurt Tsuna-kun."
"N-No. He would!" Shoichi declared, but looked uncertain himself. "H-He...He hurt Tsuna before!"
Spanner blinked, taking a good look at Natsu and how protectively he laid beside Tsuna. "...Shoichi, you never did tell me why you want him to stay away from Tsuna over the phone call."
"He hurt Tsuna!"
*Ridiculous,* Reborn looked at Shoichi. *There's no way he would hurt Tsuna.*
The others nodded in agreement, seeing how Natsu cared for Tsuna.
"B-But," Shoichi had a mixed of frustration and confusion look on his face. "He did!"
*...I have no idea what you are talking about,* Natsu injected. *I have never harmed Tsuna even once.*
"Don't you dare lie to me!" Shoichi clenched his hands. "I saw you with my own two eyes! You were going to kill Tsuna! You ran away when I shouted out! Even though it was a bit dark that time, I recognized that flaming orange fur anywhere!"
*...* Natsu's eyes gleamed. *I would never harm Tsuna.*
"You-"
*For Tsuna,* Natsu cut off whatever Shoichi was going to say. *I did a lot of things. I get into fights, I sliced off fingers, I cut off legs, I even killed for him.*
Alaude and Hibari twitched hearing that.
*However,* Those flaming orange fur wove through the air. *I would die before I would even land a hand on Tsuna.*
Shoichi was silenced by such assertion. A helpless look crossed his face, not knowing if he should believe Natsu.
*He's telling the truth,* Giotto nodded, his hyper intuition telling him that there were no lies.
Shoichi backed down, a hand holding his head in confusion. "But...if it was not you...who was it?"
*...* Natsu bared his fangs. *There's another orange cat there.*
Shoichi hitched his breath, and turned to Natsu in realization. "O-Of course..." He ruffled his head in agitation, "Why didn't I think about it?!"
"Another orange cat? That means..." Mammon frowned.
"Ah...I can't believe I did not even think about this..." Shoichi slapped a hand on his forehead. "One more orange cat there...the Millefiore Sky cat."
Natsu growled lowly, *How dare he tried to hurt Tsuna...*
Shoichi gritted his teeth.
"Byakuran."
The truth
*Ran~Ran~Ran!* An orange tail swished happily. Fangs munching on marshmallows with a sound of delight.
"Byakuran-sama," Two identical women with pink hair stepped forward. "We have found the cause of escape."
*Hm?* The orange cat, named Byakuran, swallowed his marshmallow. *Isn't it Sho-chan who did it?*
"Uh...!" Both women jerked in surprise. "...You have already known about this, Byakuran-sama?"
*Of course!* Byakuran went back munching his snacks. *How naughty of Sho-chan. I wanted to play with Tsunayoshi-kun a while longer...So,* Byakuran tilted his head. *Have you found out their location?*
The ladies bowed their heads, "Not yet, Byakuran-sama. We will inform you once we find them."
*Sure, sure. Take your time!* Byakuran nodded. *I'm not in a hurry. Since,*
Something white was seen on Byakuran's back before disappearing, making the ladies thought they had imagined it.
*It's much more fun if the other party is able to play too, don't you think?*
~To Be Continued~
And there we go! This chapter is mostly about explanation though, did it clear some of your questions?
We finally found out who Tsuna's brother really is, and more about the flames that the cats holds! Why is Reborn acting strangely? What do Natsu mean? And what's this? The real bad guy here is Byakuran?! What's going on?!
Omake:
*…* Natsu's eyes gleamed. *I would never harm Tsuna.*
"You-"
*Well,* If cats could grin, Natsu would probably have one now. *Not too much that is.*
*H-Hieee! W-Why?!* Tsuna cried out, fearing Natsu slightly for that comment.
Orange-slit eyes met brown ones, *If I bit you, it would be considered as harming, right?*
*B-But why do you want to bite me?!*
*…You are rather slow on the uptake, Tsuna.*
*Huh?*
"We don't want to hear something like that!" G cried out, cheeks blushing slightly.
"Would you look at that?" Hayato sarcastically asked. "You have a companion. Someone who is the same as you...a pervert."
G jerked a glare to him, before whipping out his bow, and firing endless arrows at Hayato, who countered back with dynamites.
*Huh? Huh?!* Tsuna looked between the attacking humanoid cats and the others, who was sighing, blushing or shaking their heads. *What did he mean by that?*
*Pay it no mind, Tsuna,* Natsu drawled out, watching the fighting cats. *I was merely making a joke.*
"Which is why it's even more disturbing!" Everyone told him.
*...Spoilsports.*
That's all folks! Please leave me a review!