Monster Tamer Tsuna - Mission #1
Modern technology truly was amazing. Squalo wasn't going to deny that.
But he's also not going to deny his lack of the mindset to appreciate it.
Who can blame him, really? After all, it was "the wonders of modern technology's" fault that he wasn't back at the Varia manor, in his comfortable bed, sound asleep after a long night of killing horde after horde of rogue mafia men in the backstreets of Sicily; that he was here.
The place, in all honesty, that disgusted Squalo.
It was a small village set in the valley between rocky mountains - a small oasis in the big bad world out there the swordsman was all but accustomed to. So really, this peace and tranquility was honestly starting to piss him off.
Or driving him insane. Whichever one came first.
Everything here seemed like something straight out of one of those fairy tale books in Bel's bookshelf - something that occurred more in memory than reality, what with the perfect green meadows, the perfect little cottages, the perfect puffy clouds, the perfect colored sky.
The side of the road (it didn't even have a ditch) was going to be sporting a perfect sickening pile of vomit, if Squalo didn't get out of there soon. But he couldn't leave. Not yet. Not until he finished the stupid job dictated in the manila folder, folded way too many times than suggested, stuffed within one of the many pockets adorning the Varia uniform's coat.
A loud cry pierced the air. Finally! Something somewhat akin to chaos!
Before he knew it, Squalo had broken into a sprint, eagerly searching for the source of the pitiful yell, not unlike a shark that just smelled a drop of blood within its waters. There! Something little, and brown, surrounded by five other similarly colored whatsits...
Oh. Children. They were children.
With no hesitance in his relentless pace, no faltering in his prideful steps, the silver-haired swordsman swaggered his way through the little grassland clearing (the plants practically withered at his feet) and stood directly in front of the six tiny people, glaring down with his eyes the color of storm clouds. The shadow casted over the horde drew curious, then terrified glances up at the menacing swordsman, and soon, every pair of eyes were on Squalo, all with a deer-in-headlights look on their faces.
"Vooiii, what the hell is going on here?!" Squalo eloquently voiced. The five standing children gave off startled screeches, and ran off as fast as their little legs could carry them. The swordsman didn't even bother to give chase. He could find all of them if he wanted to. Instead, he turned his attention to the little quivering ball of russet at his feet. "Voi! Get up!"
When the sniveling snot of a boy raised his head (finally), Squalo gave it him a sharp look, and the little thing flinched and went back to rocking back and forth in fetal position again, shoulders quivering as sobs racked his body.
Little kid was angsting. Squalo could almost give a damn.
"Oh, dammit, stop crying already!!" Squalo snapped, grabbing the thing boy by the back of his shirt and pulling him up to eye-level. "It's because you act so pathetic that they pick on you!"
At this, the boy just wailed even louder. The swordsman could feel a vein popping, as a cloud calmly drifted over the duo, almost laughing at Squalo's expense.
If looks could kill, the cloud and the boy would've been dead a couple of million times over now. The glare wasn't completely useless, though, since the boy promptly shut up, as his survival instincts kicked into action (way too late, in Squalo's opinion. If it had been Boss on the mission... Well, let's just say it meant a lot of paperwork on Squalo's part, and a boatload of money on Mammon's to cover up the murder). The swordsman shook his head in annoyance.
"Vooiii... I can't believe in the other universe, you actually managed to beat Xanxus, Sawada Tsunayoshi..."
Indeed, the miserable sobbing kid was Sawada Tsunayoshi, in this little alternate universe known to Squalo as MAJOR PUKE VILLE. The swordsman longed to snap some sense into the kid, and force him to man up and deal with those bullies on his own. His job would be loads easier then, and the results would be a lot more reassuring than scaring the kids into submission, then have them rear their ugly heads again to pick on Tsuna even more after Squalo had gone. But there, obviously, was no way sense would get into Tsuna by the red-faced, holding-back-hiccups looks of things, so Squalo decided to skip straight to Plan B.
Well, he would name it Plan B, had he had thought out a Plan A to begin with.
So he marches off to where three of the five kids had ran off to, Tsuna in tow, brilliant sunlight reflecting off the sparkling lake by their right. The murderous expression on the swordsman's face was a disturbing and slightly amusing juxtaposition to the beautiful day.
Soon, they wandered upon a little yellow-brick, red shingles-roofed cottage (complete with hay-lined chimney and cotton balls of smoke rising and dissipating into the perfectly blue backdrop), and - sure enough - the two little kids peeking their heads out of a crack in the door.
Being a Varia, Squalo was used to disappearing at a moment's notice. This time, though, he felt no immediate need to hide his presence, and strutted straight up to the front steps. In front of him, the door slammed shut, but was pulled open easily once more by an angered swordsman. If the sturdy piece of maple ripping easily off the steel hinges connecting it to the door didn't scare the two bullies, the shining sword that stuck through the center of it probably would have. The deer-in-headlights looks were back, and it didn't take long for Squalo to grab the two in a similar way in which he grabbed Tsuna (very carefully, in order to not impale them on his sword) and dragging them up into the sky.
"Vooooiiii, you ever pick on him-" Here he gave Tsuna a shake "-ever again, you'll find me back soon enough, 'cause if you're making his life miserable, you're making my life miserable. I don't have time to deal with squirts like you when I've got bigger fish to catch, bigger families to kill. Capiche, you little anklebiters?!"
Silence and a series of frenzied nods were his answer. Squalo gave a satisfied nod, complete with an almost indignant huff, and dropped the three side by side. The two ex-bullies had trembling knees, while Tsuna's just gave out altogether, making him seem smaller than he already was. Squalo rolled his eyes.
"Dammit kid! Stand up for yourself! Not in every universe some supremely powerful mafia hitman will come and train you, in order to save you from your destined doom!"
"Yes, but in his universe, there is," came an exceedingly familiar voice from behind Squalo. The Varia swordsman gave a shout and spun on his heel, stalking away angrily without even looking back. "Ciaossu, strange swordsman. Give my regards to Xanxus for me."
It wasn't until Squalo was way too deep inside the wormhole that Reborn's words hit him.
"Wai- How the hell did he kno- Vooii, to hell with it. I don't care, dammit!!"
But he's also not going to deny his lack of the mindset to appreciate it.
Who can blame him, really? After all, it was "the wonders of modern technology's" fault that he wasn't back at the Varia manor, in his comfortable bed, sound asleep after a long night of killing horde after horde of rogue mafia men in the backstreets of Sicily; that he was here.
The place, in all honesty, that disgusted Squalo.
It was a small village set in the valley between rocky mountains - a small oasis in the big bad world out there the swordsman was all but accustomed to. So really, this peace and tranquility was honestly starting to piss him off.
Or driving him insane. Whichever one came first.
Everything here seemed like something straight out of one of those fairy tale books in Bel's bookshelf - something that occurred more in memory than reality, what with the perfect green meadows, the perfect little cottages, the perfect puffy clouds, the perfect colored sky.
The side of the road (it didn't even have a ditch) was going to be sporting a perfect sickening pile of vomit, if Squalo didn't get out of there soon. But he couldn't leave. Not yet. Not until he finished the stupid job dictated in the manila folder, folded way too many times than suggested, stuffed within one of the many pockets adorning the Varia uniform's coat.
A loud cry pierced the air. Finally! Something somewhat akin to chaos!
Before he knew it, Squalo had broken into a sprint, eagerly searching for the source of the pitiful yell, not unlike a shark that just smelled a drop of blood within its waters. There! Something little, and brown, surrounded by five other similarly colored whatsits...
Oh. Children. They were children.
With no hesitance in his relentless pace, no faltering in his prideful steps, the silver-haired swordsman swaggered his way through the little grassland clearing (the plants practically withered at his feet) and stood directly in front of the six tiny people, glaring down with his eyes the color of storm clouds. The shadow casted over the horde drew curious, then terrified glances up at the menacing swordsman, and soon, every pair of eyes were on Squalo, all with a deer-in-headlights look on their faces.
"Vooiii, what the hell is going on here?!" Squalo eloquently voiced. The five standing children gave off startled screeches, and ran off as fast as their little legs could carry them. The swordsman didn't even bother to give chase. He could find all of them if he wanted to. Instead, he turned his attention to the little quivering ball of russet at his feet. "Voi! Get up!"
When the sniveling snot of a boy raised his head (finally), Squalo gave it him a sharp look, and the little thing flinched and went back to rocking back and forth in fetal position again, shoulders quivering as sobs racked his body.
Little kid was angsting. Squalo could almost give a damn.
"Oh, dammit, stop crying already!!" Squalo snapped, grabbing the thing boy by the back of his shirt and pulling him up to eye-level. "It's because you act so pathetic that they pick on you!"
At this, the boy just wailed even louder. The swordsman could feel a vein popping, as a cloud calmly drifted over the duo, almost laughing at Squalo's expense.
If looks could kill, the cloud and the boy would've been dead a couple of million times over now. The glare wasn't completely useless, though, since the boy promptly shut up, as his survival instincts kicked into action (way too late, in Squalo's opinion. If it had been Boss on the mission... Well, let's just say it meant a lot of paperwork on Squalo's part, and a boatload of money on Mammon's to cover up the murder). The swordsman shook his head in annoyance.
"Vooiii... I can't believe in the other universe, you actually managed to beat Xanxus, Sawada Tsunayoshi..."
Indeed, the miserable sobbing kid was Sawada Tsunayoshi, in this little alternate universe known to Squalo as MAJOR PUKE VILLE. The swordsman longed to snap some sense into the kid, and force him to man up and deal with those bullies on his own. His job would be loads easier then, and the results would be a lot more reassuring than scaring the kids into submission, then have them rear their ugly heads again to pick on Tsuna even more after Squalo had gone. But there, obviously, was no way sense would get into Tsuna by the red-faced, holding-back-hiccups looks of things, so Squalo decided to skip straight to Plan B.
Well, he would name it Plan B, had he had thought out a Plan A to begin with.
So he marches off to where three of the five kids had ran off to, Tsuna in tow, brilliant sunlight reflecting off the sparkling lake by their right. The murderous expression on the swordsman's face was a disturbing and slightly amusing juxtaposition to the beautiful day.
Soon, they wandered upon a little yellow-brick, red shingles-roofed cottage (complete with hay-lined chimney and cotton balls of smoke rising and dissipating into the perfectly blue backdrop), and - sure enough - the two little kids peeking their heads out of a crack in the door.
Being a Varia, Squalo was used to disappearing at a moment's notice. This time, though, he felt no immediate need to hide his presence, and strutted straight up to the front steps. In front of him, the door slammed shut, but was pulled open easily once more by an angered swordsman. If the sturdy piece of maple ripping easily off the steel hinges connecting it to the door didn't scare the two bullies, the shining sword that stuck through the center of it probably would have. The deer-in-headlights looks were back, and it didn't take long for Squalo to grab the two in a similar way in which he grabbed Tsuna (very carefully, in order to not impale them on his sword) and dragging them up into the sky.
"Vooooiiii, you ever pick on him-" Here he gave Tsuna a shake "-ever again, you'll find me back soon enough, 'cause if you're making his life miserable, you're making my life miserable. I don't have time to deal with squirts like you when I've got bigger fish to catch, bigger families to kill. Capiche, you little anklebiters?!"
Silence and a series of frenzied nods were his answer. Squalo gave a satisfied nod, complete with an almost indignant huff, and dropped the three side by side. The two ex-bullies had trembling knees, while Tsuna's just gave out altogether, making him seem smaller than he already was. Squalo rolled his eyes.
"Dammit kid! Stand up for yourself! Not in every universe some supremely powerful mafia hitman will come and train you, in order to save you from your destined doom!"
"Yes, but in his universe, there is," came an exceedingly familiar voice from behind Squalo. The Varia swordsman gave a shout and spun on his heel, stalking away angrily without even looking back. "Ciaossu, strange swordsman. Give my regards to Xanxus for me."
It wasn't until Squalo was way too deep inside the wormhole that Reborn's words hit him.
"Wai- How the hell did he kno- Vooii, to hell with it. I don't care, dammit!!"