Reborn! fic - Blood of the Covenant (Chapter 10)
( Prologue | 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 )
Title - Blood of the Covenant
Rating - PG-13 for language and violence
Characters - Gokudera, Tsuna, Reborn, Yamamoto
Notes - My sincere apologies to anyone I lured in with my initially consistent updates, only to drop the floor out from under you just when we were getting to the climax. No excuses; I just overestimated how quickly I’d be able to get the last few parts of this out.
Anyway, I know you probably just want to get right into it so I’ll shut up.
Warnings - These contain spoilers, so skip ahead if you want to avoid.
[Spoiler (click to open)]
Target 10 - Blood
“R-Reborn-san!” Gokudera sputters in shock as the tiny hitman beams at him and Tsuna from his perch on the edge of the small garden fountain.
“How long were you…?” Tsuna says with an exasperated look. His hand is resting on his chest, and he looks as though he’s trying to recover from a near-heart attack.
“That’s not important,” Reborn replies as though he didn’t just spring on them out of nowhere. “Right now, we need to focus on the DiSanto situation. But first things first,” he says as he walks over. And then, to Gokudera’s surprise, he looks right up at him.
“Gokudera. Have you calmed down, now?”
Gokudera feels heat rushing to his face as he realizes Reborn must have secretly witnessed most, if not all, of his breakdown a few minutes earlier.
“Yeah,” he says.
“And you won’t try to leave the family again?”
There is no rebuke in Reborn’s voice; yet the question hits Gokudera like a slap in the face regardless. He glances down at his feet, all of a sudden feeling deeply ashamed. “No,” he says quietly, shaking his head and shoving down the urge to drop down on all fours begging for forgiveness. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t apologize.”
That catches him off guard; he looks at Reborn in surprise. Next to him, Tsuna looks startled as well.
“You were putting the family’s needs above your own,” Reborn says simply. “That’s something your brother has yet to learn.”
Gokudera blinks at the sudden reversal. It never occurred to him to think of it in those terms. His first instinct is to argue. Of course he puts the family first-it’s only natural. But that hardly seems to matter when his good intentions have so far caused more problems than they’ve helped to solve. He can’t help but feel that Reborn-just like Yamamoto and Tsuna-is being a little too forgiving.
But as far as Luca goes, he realizes as he reflects back on it-that much is true. He thinks back to that meeting with the Ninth and his Guardians; about their debate as to whether they should go to war with Luca’s family.
And for the first time, it strikes him just how precarious Luca’s position actually is. He’d been so overwhelmed by the idea of what Luca could do to harm him and the people he cared about, he’d overlooked the fact that Luca and his people weren’t immune from harm either. They had taken on the Vongola. And everyone in the mafia world knows what happens when you cross the Vongola.
As a Boss, Luca should have been thinking about that. But it doesn’t surprise Gokudera that he seems to have dismissed it.
He realizes suddenly that Reborn is watching him. And all at once, it hits him what his plan must be.
“You think his people will turn on him,” he says.
Reborn smiles. “I talked to two of them earlier tonight. Tsuna knows,” he says, looking over at him.
“Ah…” Tsuna says, looking surprised and not quite convinced. “Those two? You really think they’d go against him?”
“Anthony Franco is Luca’s Consigliere,” Reborn says. “It’s his job to keep the Boss advised of any outside threats. It’s a given that he’s already warned Luca about this. But it seems like his warnings have been rebuffed so far.”
“That guy… he seemed really loyal, though,” Tsuna says, still looking doubtful. “Are you really sure?”
“His loyalty is precisely why he’ll do it,” Reborn replies. “After all, look at what Gokudera was willing to do for you.”
Once again, Gokudera finds the ground very suddenly interesting.
“That’s…” Tsuna trails off, also looking awkward.
Finally Gokudera says, with some uncertainty, “If that’s true… that would definitely be enough to piss him off. But even if it is, it’s still only half a plan, isn’t it?”
“That’s true,” Reborn agrees, more cheerfully than expected. “But the rest isn’t as difficult as you two think.”
As they look at him questioningly, he continues. “If you think about it, Luca DiSanto has only had two advantages to begin with. The first was Gokudera. He used your fear of him in order to manipulate you.”
Once again Gokudera feels a deep flush of guilt. But Reborn doesn’t dwell on the issue, and instead presses forward. “The other advantage he had is that the current Vongola Boss isn’t the type of person to just roll over into the DiSanto camp and wipe them all out. Isn’t that right, Tsuna?”
Tsuna looks uncomfortable, but nods. “…Yeah. Maybe it’s stupid. But I don’t… I don’t want to do it like that.”
“That’s fine,” Reborn says. “So, now, let’s look to our own advantages. We have an inside man, first of all, once I settle things with Anthony Franco. Second, we know Luca isn’t invulnerable, and his powers can be weakened and possibly broken altogether. Right?”
“Right,” Gokudera says hesitantly.
“And third… we know what Luca wants. Don’t we, Gokudera?”
Gokudera startles. Reborn is looking him right in the eye.
For a moment he freezes, put on the spot. He opens his mouth to ask him to clarify-but. If Reborn has already figured it out, then he should know too, shouldn’t he?
What Luca wants…
He thinks back to their confrontation. At first, Luca had wanted him to join him. But when Gokudera had refused, he’d been…
Angry? Yes, definitely, but… was it just that?
“Think,” Reborn prods encouragingly.
(You and I, we’re the same.)
“He wants me…”
(None of them understand what it’s like… But I understand that. You understand it. In that way, we are brothers, whether you want to admit it or not.)
Recognition finally sets in.
“He wants me to feel like he feels.”
That’s it. That’s what it is. Even as far back as that first piano recital. That’s what it’s always been. Transferring whatever pain he felt onto Gokudera. Making him experience the same feelings he’d experienced. Tormenting him, terrorizing him, casting him out.
“But I don’t,” he says suddenly. “That pain… I understand it now, but… he’s twisted. He kept talking about how the world was against him and me, how that was never going to change. He wanted me to go through what he did, and he thought that after all of that… I’d be like him. I guess. …But I’m not. Because…”
He looks over at Tsuna, and feels a sudden strength flowing into him that he can’t describe.
“…Because I found you.”
Then, as the impulsive rush of bold, clumsy honesty fades, as quickly as it had come on, he droops his head and glances away.
Reborn makes a nonchalant humming noise, sounding pleased.
Gokudera clears his throat, and glances over at Tsuna again. He’s wearing a very gentle smile.
“I don’t think it’s just that,” he says. “I mean, I’m glad, but. It’s also because you’re strong, Gokudera-kun.”
He blushes, and wants to argue that that’s giving him too much credit. The truth is, he doesn’t know for sure. All he knows is that he’s unbelievably grateful that Tsuna came into his life.
“So your brother thinks that you’re the one who doesn’t understand,” Reborn says, breaking into his thoughts. “And either he wants to punish you for that, or he wants to keep pushing until you finally do break. Either way, it means we know his goal.
“And not just that,” he continues, “but we know his MO, as well. Rather than hurting Gokudera directly, he’s decided to go after Tsuna. He’s the type of man to go for theatrics, isn’t he?”
Gokudera thinks back to Luca’s threat. “…He said he’d make me watch,” he says quietly.
Reborn nods. “He wants to make it hurt. And he seems to have a flair for irony as well. That much is clear from what happened to Ganauche.”
(You were going to shoot me with that.)
“So based on that,” Reborn concludes, “if you and Tsuna show up tomorrow night and go against his ultimatum, we know exactly what he’ll try to do.”
Gokudera thinks back to Ganauche. About the way he’d been made to shoot himself with his own gun. And he thinks even further back, to the servants on that night in the castle so many years ago, and how Luca had ordered the girl not to speak, and then made her slit her own throat.
A pit settles itself deep into his stomach as he realizes that Reborn is right-he knows exactly what Luca’s response will be.
“…He’ll make me do it.”
“Exactly,” Reborn says.
Gokudera swallows and meets Tsuna’s eyes. The thought is almost too horrible to process.
“But… can we really plan for something like that?” Tsuna says, unsettled.
But when they both turn back to Reborn there is not even the slightest hint of concern. On the contrary; yet again, he is smiling.
“We’re not just planning for it,” Reborn says. “We’re counting on it.”
---
Tsuna fell limply to the ground, and Gokudera’s heart plummeted to his stomach.
There was blood. Not much. But enough. And as Tsuna lay there motionless, he really did look dead. Gokudera felt the tears that he had blinked away building up again, but he held them back.
Luca stood a few feet away, watching intently. Watching him. Waiting to see his reaction.
Gokudera forced himself to exhale.
And then a light suddenly appeared directly above Tsuna, and took the shape of a boy. It reached into Tsuna’s chest, took hold of something, and pulled.
And like a soul freshly liberated from its flesh and blood shell, Tsuna himself emerged as the body faded away.
“Re…born!”
And as Tsuna clenched his fists, the orange flame on his forehead burst to life, and a rush of energy swept through the area. Gokudera felt it roll over him like a surging tide. This was the strength of Tsuna’s spirit. The vast, raw, roaring determination of the purest form of Dying Will.
“Save Gokudera-kun as if I were to die!”
Gokudera flushed slightly at that sentiment, so close to and yet critically different from the defeat Luca that he might have expected instead.
He swallowed back the sudden rush of emotion as he felt a fire starting to ignite in his own spirit.
And as Tsuna turned to face Luca, the gloves of his Vongola Gear shattered and faded away, and another massive surge of power rippled through the air, this one dwarfing the last. Suddenly the air was filled with the sounds of pots, statues, and even trees splintering and shattering in its wake.
Gokudera could feel the nearly unbearable heat emanating from those relentless, unyielding Sky flames. But it didn’t burn. It felt… electric.
(“We know your brother will try to force you to kill Tsuna,” Reborn said. “So all you have to do is shoot him with this.” He held up a small bullet.
“Is that…?” Gokudera asked.
“It’s not the Dying Will Bullet,” Reborn said. “Or the Rebuke Bullet.”
“Ehh?” Tsuna said, looking a little nervous. “Then what is it?”
Reborn smiled. “Leon made it for you. With this, you’ll be able to go directly into Ultimate Dying Will Mode.”)
Gokudera grinned.
And then suddenly he heard Luca’s voice.
“You…”
And Gokudera found himself turning to face his brother. There were traces of residual astonishment on Luca’s face still, but shock was slowly giving way to outrage as understanding set in.
Gokudera arched an eyebrow, still smirking. There was a newfound-or regained-boldness growing within him all of a sudden.
“You wanted me to shoot him,” he said.
“The Dying Will Bullet.” And now that fury that they had worked so hard to incite was definitely mounting. Gokudera could see it in Luca’s eyes, but as of now it still seethed just below the surface. “How did you-”
“You’re pathetic, Luca DiSanto.”
Luca whipped around. Tsuna was standing calmly, a look of unflinching resolve in his eyes.
“You’re so consumed by your own darkness, you literally can’t see beyond it. You don’t know how to escape, so the only thing you can do is try to drag down others into it.”
Luca’s eyes narrowed. “You don’t know what you’re-”
“But it didn’t work, did it? Because Gokudera-kun is stronger than that. No matter what you did, it still wasn’t enough to break his spirit. And the most pitiful thing of all is that you still don’t understand why.”
“Enough!” Luca thundered, and suddenly he turned and seized the gun from Gokudera’s hand. He aimed it at Tsuna and pulled the trigger-but nothing happened, save for the sound of an empty click.
Luca froze for a moment, and then angrily flung the weapon to the ground. It clattered uselessly as Luca turned again, his movements increasingly frenetic. He grabbed another gun from one of the men standing nearby, and aimed that one at Tsuna as well.
“I wouldn’t bother, Boss.”
Luca’s eyes widened and he turned again, just as a group of DiSanto soldiers parted, and Anthony Franco emerged from their ranks.
“They’ve all been switched out,” he said with a nod toward the gun Luca was holding. “So unless you want to see what two of those bullets can do… probably time to throw in the towel.”
Luca stared at him. He had gone completely still, a look of open confusion on his face-for a moment. Then comprehension dawned in his eyes, and with it, a mixture of hurt, anger, and betrayal.
“You…” He shook his head slowly, mouth half-open with disbelief. “You did this?”
“I’m sorry, Boss.”
“You-” Luca cut off with a shaky breath. “You and them? The Vongola?”
“It was the only way,” Franco said.
“You betrayed me.” Luca’s voice was flat, strained.
“I’m doing it to save you,” Franco said urgently. “And to keep the family safe! Look around, Luca!” He threw a hand out to indicate the soldiers standing obediently. “These men have nothing to do with this! Even if you did succeed in killing the Vongola Boss, the rest of their family would wipe us out afterwards! You’re the Boss-it’s your duty to protect the family!”
“And what about your duty?!” Luca retorted. “You’ve always said I could trust you. Isn’t that right?” There was a break in his voice, but it was overpowered by the rage that ebbed forth even more strongly. “That I could count on you? What a joke!”
“All he’s doing is trying to save you from yourself,” Tsuna cut in.
“You.” Luca turned to face Tsuna, enraged. “This is your fault.”
“Luca, stop,” Anthony cut in. “He’s just a kid. He had nothing to do with this until you dragged him into it. Hell, this isn’t even between you and your brother; it’s you and your father-”
“Shut up!”
Luca’s shout was explosive, incensed. He looked livid.
And all of a sudden Gokudera felt the subtle but unmistakable release of tension in his muscles. He nearly stumbled, feeling a sudden rush of excitement. The invisible force holding him in place had vanished; Luca’s control had been released.
Immediately he turned toward Tsuna. “Boss!”
Tsuna nodded. He took a step toward Luca-
-and all of a sudden, a dozen DiSanto soldiers moved to block his way.
Gokudera blinked and turned toward Anthony Franco. Had they been betrayed? But Franco wore a look of confusion that matched his own.
“What are you guys-” he started to say, and then his expression tightened. He looked back toward Luca.
Luca was breathing heavily, both fists clenched. He was staring intently at the men in between him and Tsuna. Those men, Gokudera observed with growing unease, all had confused and alarmed expressions on their faces.
And with a flash of dismay, Gokudera realized two things. One, Luca somehow still retained control over the Command. And two… that meant that they were surrounded by scores of potential enemies.
Franco seemed to come to this conclusion at the same time he did. He quickly turned to face his remaining men. “Listen up!” he said in a commanding voice that nonetheless betrayed his own apprehension. “Change of plans! If you can move, get out of here right now while you still can-”
But even as he spoke, Luca was already turning in their direction.
And with a strange and disconcerting synchronism that sent a chill prickling through Gokudera, about half of the men surrounding Franco suddenly crumpled to the ground, while the other half stood unnaturally straight and stiff.
“Shit-” Franco crouched down to check the vitals of the collapsed man nearest to him. Meanwhile, the men who were still standing suddenly shifted position.
A pang of alarm ran through Gokudera as he realized they were facing him. He took a step back, preparing to defend himself as they started to charge.
Then a whirlwind of orange flame tore into his view, and Tsuna fell in between him and the attackers, laying them out with quick, decisive blows. One of the men came at Tsuna still holding his assault rifle, but wielding it above his head like a bludgeoning weapon. Tsuna coolly held his ground until the last second. Then, in a lightning-fast blur of motion, he sliced clean through the weapon with one swipe of a flame-enhanced hand.
Franco, meanwhile, had gotten back to his feet, but another group of controlled soldiers was gathering to surround him. Gokudera could see him reaching toward his holster, but there was a conflicted look on his face. He didn’t want to risk seriously injuring his men, Gokudera realized.
He reached for his Vongola Gear.
Just as the first wave was beginning to charge toward Franco, a circle of black bone sheathed in red and blue flames swooped in to cut them off. Franco blinked, looking startled. Then he glanced back toward Gokudera. Gokudera nodded at him, and Franco nodded back.
Then his eyes widened.
It was instinct that made Gokudera turn back around, even before Franco could shout a warning. That same instinct made him reel in the rest of the Sistema C.A.I.’s shields, even before he fully understood why. His eyes sought out and found his brother, only to feel a shiver of foreboding when he saw that Luca was staring directly at him. The murderous look on his face was all he needed to understand why he’d suddenly had the feeling of impending danger.
Somewhere in the back of his mind, he realized that he had lost track of Tsuna.
And then he caught a flash of orange in the corner of his eye-but too late.
He brought the shields up, but against the white-hot intensity of Tsuna’s Ultimate Dying Will flame, they were like paper. Tsuna sliced through the shield on Gokudera’s left side as easily as he had cut apart the DiSanto soldier’s assault rifle only moments earlier.
Then he lunged forward.
The next few moments for Gokudera were jumbled and confused.
He felt a searing pain in his lower abdomen. Then he was buckling forward, and gasping. It felt like he had just been punched in the gut-or hit with a sledgehammer-but it burned. The pain was excruciating, and for a split second everything seemed to fade.
Then his eyes opened again and the pain had numbed a bit. He was kneeling, and he wasn’t sure when that had happened. He felt dizzy and his head felt like it was wrapped in thick cotton. He was looking down at… something… but he wasn’t sure what was going on.
After a few more seconds of confusion, he realized that he was staring at his own shirt. His midsection was covered in blood. He had the sudden terrifying recollection of something cutting into it. Into him.
All of a sudden his insides constricted and he coughed up something wet and warm. Red droplets materialized on his legs, and he stared.
He almost didn’t hear Tsuna’s voice brokenly crying out his name. But the part of him that was always attuned and attentive to Tsuna was still aware, and he looked up. Tsuna was standing in front of him-he was so close-why hadn’t he noticed?-and was still in the Ultimate Dying Will mode. But the flame looked to be in danger of flickering out completely, and Tsuna’s face was a portrait of pure horror.
His right arm was covered in red, Gokudera noticed suddenly, and that sent a tremor of panic rolling through him as well. Was he hurt…?
Dimly, he knew that wasn’t quite right. There was something he was missing. But Tsuna’s eyes were filled with tears now, and he had been so sure and filled with resolve only moments ago, and it made Gokudera afraid, because-because something had happened-something must have happened to him-or-
-or else-
He looked back down again, and brought his own right hand to his abdomen slowly.
And as he did so, the full awareness of what had just happened finally clicked into place.
---
Yamamoto waited.
Bella brought her sword around to her left hip-the position where a sheath would normally hang, except that Bella carried her own sheath on her back. Once again holding the hilt in reverse grip, she “drew” it forward slightly with her right hand, while her left hand moved to support the blade.
“Elemento Sereno: Alba Assalto.”
Yamamoto readied himself.
She sprung at him and attacked with an underhand swing, almost like a sword-assisted uppercut. Yamamoto fell back and blocked with his right-hand sword, keeping the left ready.
Then Bella’s flames changed, almost imperceptibly, but he could see the shift of intent. She twisted her wrist to the left, so that the blade angled out toward her right, lining up with Yamamoto’s throat.
If he hadn’t seen the warning in her flames, he wouldn’t have been fast enough to dodge.
As it was, he only just managed, leaning back Matrix-style just in time to avoid the second lunge, intended to take off his head.
He’d thought the near miss that had resulted in his scar the previous day had been close. This was closer. Even with his new senses on high alert, the difference in timing was only milliseconds. She hadn’t been holding back.
He grinned as she came about. “Wow… that was pretty dangerous.”
She was panting from the exertion now just like he was. He couldn’t imagine the strain that that kind of speed had to put on your body. He wondered if the movement had been assisted by the Activation trait of her Sun flames. “You wanted to see what I could do,” she said.
“I guess I should be careful what I wish for,” he laughed.
“You learned from our last battle to be cautious.” She whipped her blade around and shifted to a defensive stance. “I respect that. If you want, we can continue to fight like this, and most likely, we’ll both come to a draw.” A pause. “Would that satisfy you?”
“Heh,” he said, smiling faintly. He straightened, letting both arms relax by his sides, blades angled toward the ground. “…You said before I wouldn’t be fighting you if I didn’t think I could win.”
“At least, I hope that’s the case,” she said.
He laughed a little sheepishly. “I didn’t want to admit it after that, but to be honest… I wasn’t completely sure if I’d be able to pull it off.”
He rotated his left blade, and brought both it and the right blade to his left hip.
“So I guess the real reason I came here is… that I won’t know until I try.”
He saw a quick flicker of satisfaction in Bella’s Sun flames, and grinned.
Then, with both swords still chambered on his left side, he crouched into a half-kneeling position.
“Shigure Souen Ryu…”
He drew the blades and began rotating them in a figure eight pattern, sending waves of blue Rain flames cascading all around him. The Tranquility effect would hopefully slow down Bella’s response time-but more importantly, the vast amount of flames would help conceal his own wave energy patterns.
Halting the blades’ rotation so that they were angled back one over each shoulder in a roof-style guard, he charged. He knew Bella would still most likely be able to read his intent no matter what he did-as long as he himself knew what that intent was.
But he had two blades.
In his mind, as he ran, he pictured a coin being held up and flipped. It spun through the air in his mental space as he closed in.
Heads, the left blade.
Tails…
He could see Bella’s hesitation as he closed in. He waited until the last possible second. The imaginary coin clattered to the ground, and in his mind’s eye, he saw what it had landed on.
He grinned.
“Thirteenth Form…”
And, just as he reached Bella, he brought his right hand sword down. She moved to guard-but critically, fatally slower than before.
And as she blocked overhead, he switched to her own trademark reverse style grip, and made two horizontal cuts, coming in underneath her guard with two quick flicks of his wrist.
“Night Rain.”
---
Anthony watched in muted horror as Hayato pitched forward, then slumped to his knees.
Shit. Shit. They were rapidly approaching a worst-case scenario, when just minutes ago he had thought they were close to victory.
‘Help us take down Luca, and we’ll leave the rest of the family alone.’ That had been the Arcobaleno’s deal. Anthony had amended it to include one more stipulation-the Vongola would let Luca live. It had made him sick-and still did-to be turning on him like this. But it was the only way to ensure that he made it out alive, along with everyone else.
But if Hayato died, that would be the end. The Vongola would not forgive that. He didn’t think even the young Tenth Boss would be willing to look past it. It would mean blood.
The kid was just standing there in shock. Or maybe it was because Luca still had control of him; Anthony couldn’t tell. His right hand was covered in blood up to the wrist from where…
…Shit.
And Hayato was coughing up blood now, and the young Boss was calling his name again, his voice breaking.
If Hayato did die here, literally murdered via Tsunayoshi’s own hand…
Anthony swallowed, thinking rapidly. There was no way they would possibly be safe after that. Everyone, the whole family, would be caught up in the retaliation.
He looked over at Luca. He seemed to have momentarily forgotten about Anthony, as well as the men he’d taken possession of. All of his attention was focused on Hayato, who he stared at now with a deep, delirious anger.
“I should have done this from the start. I should have never let you live.” His voice was rough and unsteady. “It was always you. You had everything. Father’s love… the family name…”
He made a sound akin to a laugh, but there was a harshness to it, a brittle thinness that threatened to crack. “And even when I took that away, you still…”
He broke off again, and Anthony felt a mounting desperation. Luca was sounding more and more unbalanced by the minute. More and more like someone already beyond the reach of any kind of redemption. There was something broken there, something that Anthony was only now realizing went far deeper than he had ever suspected.
Or maybe it had just been his own wishful thinking that had ever made him believe there was the potential for good in Luca as well. He’d always had a darkness to him, yes, even back when they’d first met. But that same darkness was what had given Anthony hope. In a world where the people on top were by and large sheltered and uncaring, content with a status quo that left them secure and comfortable even as others suffered, Luca knew what it was like to be on the bottom rung.
He’d experienced pain, yes. And it had undeniably twisted his worldview. But pain also taught empathy. And that was exactly what was missing in the corrupt world of Cosa Nostra, and in the DiSanto family in particular, which had been isolated by its vast wealth for far too long. That was what Anthony had hoped Luca would be able to restore. It was why he’d backed him in the coup, and it was why he didn’t regret killing off the kid’s old man, even now.
But what he did regret was not foreseeing just what that act would actually do to Luca. How it would leave him suddenly adrift, with the thing he thought he’d wanted for so long suddenly accomplished, but with nothing to show for it. How his need to fill some intangible place inside of him would leave him picking at old wounds and falling back into old ways, into his old self-destructive tendencies. And how that destructive behavior would escalate until it finally led them here.
He regretted the hell out of that. But it was too late to do anything about it now. Too many damn things had gone wrong, and it was too late to do anything about nearly any of them.
If he’d done a better job as Consigliere… or if he’d done a better job keeping Luca on track well before any of this started in the first place…
He bit back another curse. “Luca, don’t do this,” he said, knowing deep down that it wouldn’t make a difference, that he was beyond reason, but still needing to try all the same. Needing to offer that hand when he was so close to the ledge.
Luca looked over at him. His eyes burned with resentment, but beyond that, there was something else. Something young and lost and inconsolable.
“He even took you,” he said.
Anthony didn’t have any defenses against that. He knew he’d earned it. But it hurt to see him coming apart like this.
He needed to say something. Wanted to console him; needed to convince him. But the seconds were eating away, and he had nothing.
Hayato suddenly coughed again, violently, and Anthony’s stomach twisted. There was no time. He had no idea how the kid was still conscious with a wound like that, let alone alive. But he was still alive, and that was all that mattered. Right now, Anthony needed to make sure he stayed that way. No matter what.
“Luca, if you kill him, they’ll kill you,” he said desperately.
But Luca’s response, when it came, confirmed all his worst fears.
“Good.”
And suddenly Tsunayoshi raised his right arm again, and the orange Sky flames brightened, charging up for another attack.
And then there was no more time to think.
Tsunayoshi fired, but Anthony was already moving. He was fast, but this was a burst of energy shot from point-blank range. It took everything he had, and there was no room for error.
His intent had been to knock Hayato out of the way of the blast.
He didn’t quite succeed.
---
“You hit me with the blunt edge of your sword,” Bella said flatly.
She was lying on the ground. Winded, but mostly unhurt. At least, Yamamoto was pretty sure.
“Ah… sorry,” he laughed. “It’s not because I was underestimating you, though,” he added, though he had a suspicion that she already understood.
She made a noise that was thoughtful, if slightly chiding. “…I guess you are still a boy.”
He laughed again. “I’m not the only one who held back, though!” he said, deactivating his Vongola Gear. “You could have killed me last time if you wanted to, you know.”
Bella made a vague tsk-ing noise, not acknowledging this, but not really denying it either.
“Heh,” he said. “I’m grateful, though. You really helped to show me something brand new.” And it had helped him to become a little stronger, after all.
“…Make sure you don’t waste it.”
“Don’t worry, I won’t.” He smiled. “You said people like that are exhausting, right?”
She was quiet for a moment.
“My father was the one who taught me to fight,” she said at last. “But he was killed when I was still young.”
He blinked.
“…Ah,” he said quietly. He thought about that for a moment. It explained quite a lot.
(They don’t consider what a waste it is, or think about those they may be leaving behind.)
Suddenly he felt like he understood Bella a lot better.
“My old man taught me too,” he said finally.
She didn’t say anything, but he could see that the yellow flames of her hadou had tempered and were burning with a kind of wistful calm.
And a moment later, it occurred to him that Bella’s flame wasn’t the only yellow glow in the area. With a thrill of excitement, he realized that he could-just barely-make out several other small glowing objects in his vision.
He held up a hand to cover his eyes for a second, afraid he was just imagining it. But no. It was almost imperceptible, but there was no question. His vision was slowly but surely recovering after all.
Relieved laughter bubbled up within him. He’d been trying not to think about it, and thought he had been succeeding, so it startled him to realize just how much lighter he felt all of a sudden.
With a wide grin, he stepped forward and reached to help Bella up, a gesture that was met with some confusion.
“…What are you doing?”
“Hmm?” he replied. “We’re done, aren’t we?”
She was silent for a moment before finally accepting the hand and allowing him to pull her up.
“You’re a strange boy, Yamamoto Ta-”
Suddenly she cut off, inhaling sharply. For a split second Yamamoto was worried that maybe she’d been more hurt than he had realized, but then her head snapped to the side as though staring off towards something far away, as her hadou went ice cold.
“No…” she said, sounding as though she was in shock. Then she was trying to stand again, but much too fast, stumbling and almost falling once more.
“H-hey!” he said, now very concerned but not sure what was going on. “Take it easy-”
“Let go-I have to-”
Then suddenly she gasped again, this time a much more pained and anguished sound. Before he could understand what was happening, she was sliding back down to her knees. If not for the grip he maintained on her arm, he thought she would have collapsed. Her attention still seemed fixed far off in the distance.
A cold feeling suddenly made its way into the pit of Yamamoto’s own stomach.
“What is it?” he said.
She didn’t respond.
---
For one long, terrifying moment, Tsuna couldn’t see anything.
But what scared him even more was that he didn’t know if he wanted to see.
Everything had happened so fast. He’d been fighting a group of DiSanto soldiers when suddenly his movements had ceased to be his own. It was like there was some instinct directing him that he was powerless to resist. Then he’d charged straight toward Gokudera, who had tried to defend himself with his shields, to no avail.
And then…
Tsuna felt sick to his stomach.
It had never before occurred to him just how terrible a power he held. Because it was his, and he was the one in control of it. It wasn’t a power to be used lightly, and he had never once done so. He’d only ever used that strength to protect his friends. To help keep them safe.
Words couldn’t describe the visceral horror of suddenly having that power used against them, and being unable to do anything to stop it. It was a violation of the worst kind, an unwilling reversal of everything he’d ever sought out to do with his Dying Will.
And he’d been helpless to do anything but watch as Gokudera had crumpled, folding in on himself, confused and reeling in pain and shock.
And still that had not been enough for Luca. The next thing Tsuna knew, he was powering up the X-Burner flame. And still he was helpless, and Gokudera was kneeling in front of him, already so badly hurt, and Tsuna saw his own powerlessness reflected in his eyes.
And then he’d fired, and screamed, because for that one terrible instant, he’d thought it was all over.
But just before the attack-not fully powered, but still more than enough to be fatal-had hit Gokudera, he’d seen a strange flash of movement. And then the light from the blast had temporarily blocked out everything else from his vision.
In that moment, as the light slowly faded, all he could think was, please don’t let him be dead, he can’t be dead. It seemed to drag out forever.
And then, finally, the light receded.
And Tsuna’s eyes widened.
Anthony Franco stood between him and Gokudera. His entire front side was a mass of burns, blackened and bloodied. He looked like he had taken the full brunt of the blast.
For a moment, he wavered on his feet. He blinked a few times, looking strangely calm.
Then he collapsed.
Tsuna heard a strangled cry from just outside his field of vision.
And then, without warning, the invisible grip holding him in place vanished as if it had never been.
For a moment his mind was blank. Then he saw the DiSanto men around him moving as well, with various looks of surprise and bewilderment. A few of them dropped their weapons.
Then Tsuna heard a wet, struggling cough, and all other thoughts flew from his mind. In an instant, he was at Gokudera’s side, the Dying Will flame dissolving away as he moved. “Gokudera-kun!”
He felt colder than he should have been, and his breathing was labored. But he was alive. Relief like Tsuna had never felt before flooded through him like a river bursting through a dam.
He immediately turned his attention to Gokudera’s injury. But that, too, was somehow not as bad as he had feared. By some miracle, he hadn’t gone all the way through, and the wound seemed to have cauterized somehow. Most likely from the flames, he realized with a shuddering feeling. But it seemed to have slowed the bleeding, and that could very well have saved Gokudera’s life.
He seemed to be hovering on the edge of consciousness, and his attention was not focused on Tsuna, but rather behind him. Suddenly, Tsuna remembered who had done this in the first place, and he twisted around, still holding Gokudera’s shoulders protectively.
But Luca was not moving to attack again. He was not, in fact, paying them any heed whatsoever. He stood frozen in place. And his expression…
Tsuna knew that look. Knew it because it was the same one he himself had been wearing only moments earlier.
“Boss…”
That was Anthony Franco. Luca took a few steps toward him, arms slack at his sides.
And then all at once he fell to his knees, eyes wide as he moved to Anthony’s side, hands hovering over his wounds in a frantic uncertainty. He glanced up, casting about desperately, but then faltering when he seemed to remember that his men were no longer obeying his commands.
Then a tiny figure stepped out from amongst the crowd. With a grave authority, Reborn looked up and addressed the man standing closest to him. “Call a healing squad. Now.”
The man hesitated for only a fraction of a second, then took off running.
“Hey… Luca…”
Tsuna watched as Luca looked back down at Anthony, his eyes still wide. All his prior wrath seemed to have sapped out from him all at once. He looked tired and afraid.
“You never lost me,” Anthony said quietly.
Luca’s lips opened slightly and then pressed together in a grimace, and Tsuna saw to his shock that he was crying.
“I’m sorry,” Anthony said. “Hey…”
His right hand shook slightly as he raised it. “All that pain you’ve got bottled up…” He reached out to touch Luca’s chest, resting his hand on its center. “Learn from it. Let it make you better. Don’t… don’t let it eat you up.”
Luca’s face contorted with sudden emotion, and for an instant, Tsuna was struck by just how much he looked like Gokudera.
Then Anthony’s hand suddenly went slack, and his head lolled back in Luca’s arms, just as the summoned medical team came rushing over.
Two of the medics ran up to Tsuna and Gokudera as well, and to Tsuna’s relief, he saw the familiar yellow glimmer of Sun flames as one of them immediately went to work on Gokudera’s injury. Tsuna allowed them to do so, but stayed close, holding onto his hand as they laid him back carefully on the ground.
His gaze was unfocused, but his eyes found Tsuna’s and he managed to smile faintly. Tsuna tried to smile back, but found all of a sudden that tears were forming unbidden in his eyes.
“I’m sorry,” he choked out. “I couldn’t…”
“It’s okay,” Gokudera replied, his voice not much stronger than a whisper, but still reassuring. “I’m all right.”
Words were failing him; he wanted to keep apologizing, and he also wanted to tell him how glad he was that he was okay. “Gokudera-kun…”
“…‘Hayato.’”
Tsuna’s heart jumped a beat in surprise. He blinked back at Gokudera, who was looking up at him with a gentle, trusting fondness.
And with a smile of his own, Tsuna wiped roughly at the tears still welled up.
“Hayato,” he acceded.
He looked back over at Luca and Anthony. The medics had surrounded the latter, blocking him from Tsuna’s view.
Luca hadn’t moved from his spot, and made no move to do so even when Reborn took a step toward him with a gun aimed at his head.
“Luca DiSanto.” His tone was sober. “This fight is over. What will you do now?”
Luca’s response, when it came, was in a subdued monotone. His eyes never moved from where Anthony lay, being attended to by the medics.
“I surrender,” he said.
---
(to be concluded...)
Return to Previous Chapter (09)
( Prologue | 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 )
Additional Notes - Oh man this time I have so many. Let’s see.
Title - Blood of the Covenant
Rating - PG-13 for language and violence
Characters - Gokudera, Tsuna, Reborn, Yamamoto
Notes - My sincere apologies to anyone I lured in with my initially consistent updates, only to drop the floor out from under you just when we were getting to the climax. No excuses; I just overestimated how quickly I’d be able to get the last few parts of this out.
Anyway, I know you probably just want to get right into it so I’ll shut up.
Warnings - These contain spoilers, so skip ahead if you want to avoid.
[Spoiler (click to open)]
- Horrific injury warning. I really don’t want to spoil things, but think along the lines of some of the more shocking moments in the series (particularly around the Inheritance Arc, and near the end of the Arco Arc).
- More of that mind control business.
- Character death…?
Target 10 - Blood
“R-Reborn-san!” Gokudera sputters in shock as the tiny hitman beams at him and Tsuna from his perch on the edge of the small garden fountain.
“How long were you…?” Tsuna says with an exasperated look. His hand is resting on his chest, and he looks as though he’s trying to recover from a near-heart attack.
“That’s not important,” Reborn replies as though he didn’t just spring on them out of nowhere. “Right now, we need to focus on the DiSanto situation. But first things first,” he says as he walks over. And then, to Gokudera’s surprise, he looks right up at him.
“Gokudera. Have you calmed down, now?”
Gokudera feels heat rushing to his face as he realizes Reborn must have secretly witnessed most, if not all, of his breakdown a few minutes earlier.
“Yeah,” he says.
“And you won’t try to leave the family again?”
There is no rebuke in Reborn’s voice; yet the question hits Gokudera like a slap in the face regardless. He glances down at his feet, all of a sudden feeling deeply ashamed. “No,” he says quietly, shaking his head and shoving down the urge to drop down on all fours begging for forgiveness. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t apologize.”
That catches him off guard; he looks at Reborn in surprise. Next to him, Tsuna looks startled as well.
“You were putting the family’s needs above your own,” Reborn says simply. “That’s something your brother has yet to learn.”
Gokudera blinks at the sudden reversal. It never occurred to him to think of it in those terms. His first instinct is to argue. Of course he puts the family first-it’s only natural. But that hardly seems to matter when his good intentions have so far caused more problems than they’ve helped to solve. He can’t help but feel that Reborn-just like Yamamoto and Tsuna-is being a little too forgiving.
But as far as Luca goes, he realizes as he reflects back on it-that much is true. He thinks back to that meeting with the Ninth and his Guardians; about their debate as to whether they should go to war with Luca’s family.
And for the first time, it strikes him just how precarious Luca’s position actually is. He’d been so overwhelmed by the idea of what Luca could do to harm him and the people he cared about, he’d overlooked the fact that Luca and his people weren’t immune from harm either. They had taken on the Vongola. And everyone in the mafia world knows what happens when you cross the Vongola.
As a Boss, Luca should have been thinking about that. But it doesn’t surprise Gokudera that he seems to have dismissed it.
He realizes suddenly that Reborn is watching him. And all at once, it hits him what his plan must be.
“You think his people will turn on him,” he says.
Reborn smiles. “I talked to two of them earlier tonight. Tsuna knows,” he says, looking over at him.
“Ah…” Tsuna says, looking surprised and not quite convinced. “Those two? You really think they’d go against him?”
“Anthony Franco is Luca’s Consigliere,” Reborn says. “It’s his job to keep the Boss advised of any outside threats. It’s a given that he’s already warned Luca about this. But it seems like his warnings have been rebuffed so far.”
“That guy… he seemed really loyal, though,” Tsuna says, still looking doubtful. “Are you really sure?”
“His loyalty is precisely why he’ll do it,” Reborn replies. “After all, look at what Gokudera was willing to do for you.”
Once again, Gokudera finds the ground very suddenly interesting.
“That’s…” Tsuna trails off, also looking awkward.
Finally Gokudera says, with some uncertainty, “If that’s true… that would definitely be enough to piss him off. But even if it is, it’s still only half a plan, isn’t it?”
“That’s true,” Reborn agrees, more cheerfully than expected. “But the rest isn’t as difficult as you two think.”
As they look at him questioningly, he continues. “If you think about it, Luca DiSanto has only had two advantages to begin with. The first was Gokudera. He used your fear of him in order to manipulate you.”
Once again Gokudera feels a deep flush of guilt. But Reborn doesn’t dwell on the issue, and instead presses forward. “The other advantage he had is that the current Vongola Boss isn’t the type of person to just roll over into the DiSanto camp and wipe them all out. Isn’t that right, Tsuna?”
Tsuna looks uncomfortable, but nods. “…Yeah. Maybe it’s stupid. But I don’t… I don’t want to do it like that.”
“That’s fine,” Reborn says. “So, now, let’s look to our own advantages. We have an inside man, first of all, once I settle things with Anthony Franco. Second, we know Luca isn’t invulnerable, and his powers can be weakened and possibly broken altogether. Right?”
“Right,” Gokudera says hesitantly.
“And third… we know what Luca wants. Don’t we, Gokudera?”
Gokudera startles. Reborn is looking him right in the eye.
For a moment he freezes, put on the spot. He opens his mouth to ask him to clarify-but. If Reborn has already figured it out, then he should know too, shouldn’t he?
What Luca wants…
He thinks back to their confrontation. At first, Luca had wanted him to join him. But when Gokudera had refused, he’d been…
Angry? Yes, definitely, but… was it just that?
“Think,” Reborn prods encouragingly.
(You and I, we’re the same.)
“He wants me…”
(None of them understand what it’s like… But I understand that. You understand it. In that way, we are brothers, whether you want to admit it or not.)
Recognition finally sets in.
“He wants me to feel like he feels.”
That’s it. That’s what it is. Even as far back as that first piano recital. That’s what it’s always been. Transferring whatever pain he felt onto Gokudera. Making him experience the same feelings he’d experienced. Tormenting him, terrorizing him, casting him out.
“But I don’t,” he says suddenly. “That pain… I understand it now, but… he’s twisted. He kept talking about how the world was against him and me, how that was never going to change. He wanted me to go through what he did, and he thought that after all of that… I’d be like him. I guess. …But I’m not. Because…”
He looks over at Tsuna, and feels a sudden strength flowing into him that he can’t describe.
“…Because I found you.”
Then, as the impulsive rush of bold, clumsy honesty fades, as quickly as it had come on, he droops his head and glances away.
Reborn makes a nonchalant humming noise, sounding pleased.
Gokudera clears his throat, and glances over at Tsuna again. He’s wearing a very gentle smile.
“I don’t think it’s just that,” he says. “I mean, I’m glad, but. It’s also because you’re strong, Gokudera-kun.”
He blushes, and wants to argue that that’s giving him too much credit. The truth is, he doesn’t know for sure. All he knows is that he’s unbelievably grateful that Tsuna came into his life.
“So your brother thinks that you’re the one who doesn’t understand,” Reborn says, breaking into his thoughts. “And either he wants to punish you for that, or he wants to keep pushing until you finally do break. Either way, it means we know his goal.
“And not just that,” he continues, “but we know his MO, as well. Rather than hurting Gokudera directly, he’s decided to go after Tsuna. He’s the type of man to go for theatrics, isn’t he?”
Gokudera thinks back to Luca’s threat. “…He said he’d make me watch,” he says quietly.
Reborn nods. “He wants to make it hurt. And he seems to have a flair for irony as well. That much is clear from what happened to Ganauche.”
(You were going to shoot me with that.)
“So based on that,” Reborn concludes, “if you and Tsuna show up tomorrow night and go against his ultimatum, we know exactly what he’ll try to do.”
Gokudera thinks back to Ganauche. About the way he’d been made to shoot himself with his own gun. And he thinks even further back, to the servants on that night in the castle so many years ago, and how Luca had ordered the girl not to speak, and then made her slit her own throat.
A pit settles itself deep into his stomach as he realizes that Reborn is right-he knows exactly what Luca’s response will be.
“…He’ll make me do it.”
“Exactly,” Reborn says.
Gokudera swallows and meets Tsuna’s eyes. The thought is almost too horrible to process.
“But… can we really plan for something like that?” Tsuna says, unsettled.
But when they both turn back to Reborn there is not even the slightest hint of concern. On the contrary; yet again, he is smiling.
“We’re not just planning for it,” Reborn says. “We’re counting on it.”
---
Tsuna fell limply to the ground, and Gokudera’s heart plummeted to his stomach.
There was blood. Not much. But enough. And as Tsuna lay there motionless, he really did look dead. Gokudera felt the tears that he had blinked away building up again, but he held them back.
Luca stood a few feet away, watching intently. Watching him. Waiting to see his reaction.
Gokudera forced himself to exhale.
And then a light suddenly appeared directly above Tsuna, and took the shape of a boy. It reached into Tsuna’s chest, took hold of something, and pulled.
And like a soul freshly liberated from its flesh and blood shell, Tsuna himself emerged as the body faded away.
“Re…born!”
And as Tsuna clenched his fists, the orange flame on his forehead burst to life, and a rush of energy swept through the area. Gokudera felt it roll over him like a surging tide. This was the strength of Tsuna’s spirit. The vast, raw, roaring determination of the purest form of Dying Will.
“Save Gokudera-kun as if I were to die!”
Gokudera flushed slightly at that sentiment, so close to and yet critically different from the defeat Luca that he might have expected instead.
He swallowed back the sudden rush of emotion as he felt a fire starting to ignite in his own spirit.
And as Tsuna turned to face Luca, the gloves of his Vongola Gear shattered and faded away, and another massive surge of power rippled through the air, this one dwarfing the last. Suddenly the air was filled with the sounds of pots, statues, and even trees splintering and shattering in its wake.
Gokudera could feel the nearly unbearable heat emanating from those relentless, unyielding Sky flames. But it didn’t burn. It felt… electric.
(“We know your brother will try to force you to kill Tsuna,” Reborn said. “So all you have to do is shoot him with this.” He held up a small bullet.
“Is that…?” Gokudera asked.
“It’s not the Dying Will Bullet,” Reborn said. “Or the Rebuke Bullet.”
“Ehh?” Tsuna said, looking a little nervous. “Then what is it?”
Reborn smiled. “Leon made it for you. With this, you’ll be able to go directly into Ultimate Dying Will Mode.”)
Gokudera grinned.
And then suddenly he heard Luca’s voice.
“You…”
And Gokudera found himself turning to face his brother. There were traces of residual astonishment on Luca’s face still, but shock was slowly giving way to outrage as understanding set in.
Gokudera arched an eyebrow, still smirking. There was a newfound-or regained-boldness growing within him all of a sudden.
“You wanted me to shoot him,” he said.
“The Dying Will Bullet.” And now that fury that they had worked so hard to incite was definitely mounting. Gokudera could see it in Luca’s eyes, but as of now it still seethed just below the surface. “How did you-”
“You’re pathetic, Luca DiSanto.”
Luca whipped around. Tsuna was standing calmly, a look of unflinching resolve in his eyes.
“You’re so consumed by your own darkness, you literally can’t see beyond it. You don’t know how to escape, so the only thing you can do is try to drag down others into it.”
Luca’s eyes narrowed. “You don’t know what you’re-”
“But it didn’t work, did it? Because Gokudera-kun is stronger than that. No matter what you did, it still wasn’t enough to break his spirit. And the most pitiful thing of all is that you still don’t understand why.”
“Enough!” Luca thundered, and suddenly he turned and seized the gun from Gokudera’s hand. He aimed it at Tsuna and pulled the trigger-but nothing happened, save for the sound of an empty click.
Luca froze for a moment, and then angrily flung the weapon to the ground. It clattered uselessly as Luca turned again, his movements increasingly frenetic. He grabbed another gun from one of the men standing nearby, and aimed that one at Tsuna as well.
“I wouldn’t bother, Boss.”
Luca’s eyes widened and he turned again, just as a group of DiSanto soldiers parted, and Anthony Franco emerged from their ranks.
“They’ve all been switched out,” he said with a nod toward the gun Luca was holding. “So unless you want to see what two of those bullets can do… probably time to throw in the towel.”
Luca stared at him. He had gone completely still, a look of open confusion on his face-for a moment. Then comprehension dawned in his eyes, and with it, a mixture of hurt, anger, and betrayal.
“You…” He shook his head slowly, mouth half-open with disbelief. “You did this?”
“I’m sorry, Boss.”
“You-” Luca cut off with a shaky breath. “You and them? The Vongola?”
“It was the only way,” Franco said.
“You betrayed me.” Luca’s voice was flat, strained.
“I’m doing it to save you,” Franco said urgently. “And to keep the family safe! Look around, Luca!” He threw a hand out to indicate the soldiers standing obediently. “These men have nothing to do with this! Even if you did succeed in killing the Vongola Boss, the rest of their family would wipe us out afterwards! You’re the Boss-it’s your duty to protect the family!”
“And what about your duty?!” Luca retorted. “You’ve always said I could trust you. Isn’t that right?” There was a break in his voice, but it was overpowered by the rage that ebbed forth even more strongly. “That I could count on you? What a joke!”
“All he’s doing is trying to save you from yourself,” Tsuna cut in.
“You.” Luca turned to face Tsuna, enraged. “This is your fault.”
“Luca, stop,” Anthony cut in. “He’s just a kid. He had nothing to do with this until you dragged him into it. Hell, this isn’t even between you and your brother; it’s you and your father-”
“Shut up!”
Luca’s shout was explosive, incensed. He looked livid.
And all of a sudden Gokudera felt the subtle but unmistakable release of tension in his muscles. He nearly stumbled, feeling a sudden rush of excitement. The invisible force holding him in place had vanished; Luca’s control had been released.
Immediately he turned toward Tsuna. “Boss!”
Tsuna nodded. He took a step toward Luca-
-and all of a sudden, a dozen DiSanto soldiers moved to block his way.
Gokudera blinked and turned toward Anthony Franco. Had they been betrayed? But Franco wore a look of confusion that matched his own.
“What are you guys-” he started to say, and then his expression tightened. He looked back toward Luca.
Luca was breathing heavily, both fists clenched. He was staring intently at the men in between him and Tsuna. Those men, Gokudera observed with growing unease, all had confused and alarmed expressions on their faces.
And with a flash of dismay, Gokudera realized two things. One, Luca somehow still retained control over the Command. And two… that meant that they were surrounded by scores of potential enemies.
Franco seemed to come to this conclusion at the same time he did. He quickly turned to face his remaining men. “Listen up!” he said in a commanding voice that nonetheless betrayed his own apprehension. “Change of plans! If you can move, get out of here right now while you still can-”
But even as he spoke, Luca was already turning in their direction.
And with a strange and disconcerting synchronism that sent a chill prickling through Gokudera, about half of the men surrounding Franco suddenly crumpled to the ground, while the other half stood unnaturally straight and stiff.
“Shit-” Franco crouched down to check the vitals of the collapsed man nearest to him. Meanwhile, the men who were still standing suddenly shifted position.
A pang of alarm ran through Gokudera as he realized they were facing him. He took a step back, preparing to defend himself as they started to charge.
Then a whirlwind of orange flame tore into his view, and Tsuna fell in between him and the attackers, laying them out with quick, decisive blows. One of the men came at Tsuna still holding his assault rifle, but wielding it above his head like a bludgeoning weapon. Tsuna coolly held his ground until the last second. Then, in a lightning-fast blur of motion, he sliced clean through the weapon with one swipe of a flame-enhanced hand.
Franco, meanwhile, had gotten back to his feet, but another group of controlled soldiers was gathering to surround him. Gokudera could see him reaching toward his holster, but there was a conflicted look on his face. He didn’t want to risk seriously injuring his men, Gokudera realized.
He reached for his Vongola Gear.
Just as the first wave was beginning to charge toward Franco, a circle of black bone sheathed in red and blue flames swooped in to cut them off. Franco blinked, looking startled. Then he glanced back toward Gokudera. Gokudera nodded at him, and Franco nodded back.
Then his eyes widened.
It was instinct that made Gokudera turn back around, even before Franco could shout a warning. That same instinct made him reel in the rest of the Sistema C.A.I.’s shields, even before he fully understood why. His eyes sought out and found his brother, only to feel a shiver of foreboding when he saw that Luca was staring directly at him. The murderous look on his face was all he needed to understand why he’d suddenly had the feeling of impending danger.
Somewhere in the back of his mind, he realized that he had lost track of Tsuna.
And then he caught a flash of orange in the corner of his eye-but too late.
He brought the shields up, but against the white-hot intensity of Tsuna’s Ultimate Dying Will flame, they were like paper. Tsuna sliced through the shield on Gokudera’s left side as easily as he had cut apart the DiSanto soldier’s assault rifle only moments earlier.
Then he lunged forward.
The next few moments for Gokudera were jumbled and confused.
He felt a searing pain in his lower abdomen. Then he was buckling forward, and gasping. It felt like he had just been punched in the gut-or hit with a sledgehammer-but it burned. The pain was excruciating, and for a split second everything seemed to fade.
Then his eyes opened again and the pain had numbed a bit. He was kneeling, and he wasn’t sure when that had happened. He felt dizzy and his head felt like it was wrapped in thick cotton. He was looking down at… something… but he wasn’t sure what was going on.
After a few more seconds of confusion, he realized that he was staring at his own shirt. His midsection was covered in blood. He had the sudden terrifying recollection of something cutting into it. Into him.
All of a sudden his insides constricted and he coughed up something wet and warm. Red droplets materialized on his legs, and he stared.
He almost didn’t hear Tsuna’s voice brokenly crying out his name. But the part of him that was always attuned and attentive to Tsuna was still aware, and he looked up. Tsuna was standing in front of him-he was so close-why hadn’t he noticed?-and was still in the Ultimate Dying Will mode. But the flame looked to be in danger of flickering out completely, and Tsuna’s face was a portrait of pure horror.
His right arm was covered in red, Gokudera noticed suddenly, and that sent a tremor of panic rolling through him as well. Was he hurt…?
Dimly, he knew that wasn’t quite right. There was something he was missing. But Tsuna’s eyes were filled with tears now, and he had been so sure and filled with resolve only moments ago, and it made Gokudera afraid, because-because something had happened-something must have happened to him-or-
-or else-
He looked back down again, and brought his own right hand to his abdomen slowly.
And as he did so, the full awareness of what had just happened finally clicked into place.
---
Yamamoto waited.
Bella brought her sword around to her left hip-the position where a sheath would normally hang, except that Bella carried her own sheath on her back. Once again holding the hilt in reverse grip, she “drew” it forward slightly with her right hand, while her left hand moved to support the blade.
“Elemento Sereno: Alba Assalto.”
Yamamoto readied himself.
She sprung at him and attacked with an underhand swing, almost like a sword-assisted uppercut. Yamamoto fell back and blocked with his right-hand sword, keeping the left ready.
Then Bella’s flames changed, almost imperceptibly, but he could see the shift of intent. She twisted her wrist to the left, so that the blade angled out toward her right, lining up with Yamamoto’s throat.
If he hadn’t seen the warning in her flames, he wouldn’t have been fast enough to dodge.
As it was, he only just managed, leaning back Matrix-style just in time to avoid the second lunge, intended to take off his head.
He’d thought the near miss that had resulted in his scar the previous day had been close. This was closer. Even with his new senses on high alert, the difference in timing was only milliseconds. She hadn’t been holding back.
He grinned as she came about. “Wow… that was pretty dangerous.”
She was panting from the exertion now just like he was. He couldn’t imagine the strain that that kind of speed had to put on your body. He wondered if the movement had been assisted by the Activation trait of her Sun flames. “You wanted to see what I could do,” she said.
“I guess I should be careful what I wish for,” he laughed.
“You learned from our last battle to be cautious.” She whipped her blade around and shifted to a defensive stance. “I respect that. If you want, we can continue to fight like this, and most likely, we’ll both come to a draw.” A pause. “Would that satisfy you?”
“Heh,” he said, smiling faintly. He straightened, letting both arms relax by his sides, blades angled toward the ground. “…You said before I wouldn’t be fighting you if I didn’t think I could win.”
“At least, I hope that’s the case,” she said.
He laughed a little sheepishly. “I didn’t want to admit it after that, but to be honest… I wasn’t completely sure if I’d be able to pull it off.”
He rotated his left blade, and brought both it and the right blade to his left hip.
“So I guess the real reason I came here is… that I won’t know until I try.”
He saw a quick flicker of satisfaction in Bella’s Sun flames, and grinned.
Then, with both swords still chambered on his left side, he crouched into a half-kneeling position.
“Shigure Souen Ryu…”
He drew the blades and began rotating them in a figure eight pattern, sending waves of blue Rain flames cascading all around him. The Tranquility effect would hopefully slow down Bella’s response time-but more importantly, the vast amount of flames would help conceal his own wave energy patterns.
Halting the blades’ rotation so that they were angled back one over each shoulder in a roof-style guard, he charged. He knew Bella would still most likely be able to read his intent no matter what he did-as long as he himself knew what that intent was.
But he had two blades.
In his mind, as he ran, he pictured a coin being held up and flipped. It spun through the air in his mental space as he closed in.
Heads, the left blade.
Tails…
He could see Bella’s hesitation as he closed in. He waited until the last possible second. The imaginary coin clattered to the ground, and in his mind’s eye, he saw what it had landed on.
He grinned.
“Thirteenth Form…”
And, just as he reached Bella, he brought his right hand sword down. She moved to guard-but critically, fatally slower than before.
And as she blocked overhead, he switched to her own trademark reverse style grip, and made two horizontal cuts, coming in underneath her guard with two quick flicks of his wrist.
“Night Rain.”
---
Anthony watched in muted horror as Hayato pitched forward, then slumped to his knees.
Shit. Shit. They were rapidly approaching a worst-case scenario, when just minutes ago he had thought they were close to victory.
‘Help us take down Luca, and we’ll leave the rest of the family alone.’ That had been the Arcobaleno’s deal. Anthony had amended it to include one more stipulation-the Vongola would let Luca live. It had made him sick-and still did-to be turning on him like this. But it was the only way to ensure that he made it out alive, along with everyone else.
But if Hayato died, that would be the end. The Vongola would not forgive that. He didn’t think even the young Tenth Boss would be willing to look past it. It would mean blood.
The kid was just standing there in shock. Or maybe it was because Luca still had control of him; Anthony couldn’t tell. His right hand was covered in blood up to the wrist from where…
…Shit.
And Hayato was coughing up blood now, and the young Boss was calling his name again, his voice breaking.
If Hayato did die here, literally murdered via Tsunayoshi’s own hand…
Anthony swallowed, thinking rapidly. There was no way they would possibly be safe after that. Everyone, the whole family, would be caught up in the retaliation.
He looked over at Luca. He seemed to have momentarily forgotten about Anthony, as well as the men he’d taken possession of. All of his attention was focused on Hayato, who he stared at now with a deep, delirious anger.
“I should have done this from the start. I should have never let you live.” His voice was rough and unsteady. “It was always you. You had everything. Father’s love… the family name…”
He made a sound akin to a laugh, but there was a harshness to it, a brittle thinness that threatened to crack. “And even when I took that away, you still…”
He broke off again, and Anthony felt a mounting desperation. Luca was sounding more and more unbalanced by the minute. More and more like someone already beyond the reach of any kind of redemption. There was something broken there, something that Anthony was only now realizing went far deeper than he had ever suspected.
Or maybe it had just been his own wishful thinking that had ever made him believe there was the potential for good in Luca as well. He’d always had a darkness to him, yes, even back when they’d first met. But that same darkness was what had given Anthony hope. In a world where the people on top were by and large sheltered and uncaring, content with a status quo that left them secure and comfortable even as others suffered, Luca knew what it was like to be on the bottom rung.
He’d experienced pain, yes. And it had undeniably twisted his worldview. But pain also taught empathy. And that was exactly what was missing in the corrupt world of Cosa Nostra, and in the DiSanto family in particular, which had been isolated by its vast wealth for far too long. That was what Anthony had hoped Luca would be able to restore. It was why he’d backed him in the coup, and it was why he didn’t regret killing off the kid’s old man, even now.
But what he did regret was not foreseeing just what that act would actually do to Luca. How it would leave him suddenly adrift, with the thing he thought he’d wanted for so long suddenly accomplished, but with nothing to show for it. How his need to fill some intangible place inside of him would leave him picking at old wounds and falling back into old ways, into his old self-destructive tendencies. And how that destructive behavior would escalate until it finally led them here.
He regretted the hell out of that. But it was too late to do anything about it now. Too many damn things had gone wrong, and it was too late to do anything about nearly any of them.
If he’d done a better job as Consigliere… or if he’d done a better job keeping Luca on track well before any of this started in the first place…
He bit back another curse. “Luca, don’t do this,” he said, knowing deep down that it wouldn’t make a difference, that he was beyond reason, but still needing to try all the same. Needing to offer that hand when he was so close to the ledge.
Luca looked over at him. His eyes burned with resentment, but beyond that, there was something else. Something young and lost and inconsolable.
“He even took you,” he said.
Anthony didn’t have any defenses against that. He knew he’d earned it. But it hurt to see him coming apart like this.
He needed to say something. Wanted to console him; needed to convince him. But the seconds were eating away, and he had nothing.
Hayato suddenly coughed again, violently, and Anthony’s stomach twisted. There was no time. He had no idea how the kid was still conscious with a wound like that, let alone alive. But he was still alive, and that was all that mattered. Right now, Anthony needed to make sure he stayed that way. No matter what.
“Luca, if you kill him, they’ll kill you,” he said desperately.
But Luca’s response, when it came, confirmed all his worst fears.
“Good.”
And suddenly Tsunayoshi raised his right arm again, and the orange Sky flames brightened, charging up for another attack.
And then there was no more time to think.
Tsunayoshi fired, but Anthony was already moving. He was fast, but this was a burst of energy shot from point-blank range. It took everything he had, and there was no room for error.
His intent had been to knock Hayato out of the way of the blast.
He didn’t quite succeed.
---
“You hit me with the blunt edge of your sword,” Bella said flatly.
She was lying on the ground. Winded, but mostly unhurt. At least, Yamamoto was pretty sure.
“Ah… sorry,” he laughed. “It’s not because I was underestimating you, though,” he added, though he had a suspicion that she already understood.
She made a noise that was thoughtful, if slightly chiding. “…I guess you are still a boy.”
He laughed again. “I’m not the only one who held back, though!” he said, deactivating his Vongola Gear. “You could have killed me last time if you wanted to, you know.”
Bella made a vague tsk-ing noise, not acknowledging this, but not really denying it either.
“Heh,” he said. “I’m grateful, though. You really helped to show me something brand new.” And it had helped him to become a little stronger, after all.
“…Make sure you don’t waste it.”
“Don’t worry, I won’t.” He smiled. “You said people like that are exhausting, right?”
She was quiet for a moment.
“My father was the one who taught me to fight,” she said at last. “But he was killed when I was still young.”
He blinked.
“…Ah,” he said quietly. He thought about that for a moment. It explained quite a lot.
(They don’t consider what a waste it is, or think about those they may be leaving behind.)
Suddenly he felt like he understood Bella a lot better.
“My old man taught me too,” he said finally.
She didn’t say anything, but he could see that the yellow flames of her hadou had tempered and were burning with a kind of wistful calm.
And a moment later, it occurred to him that Bella’s flame wasn’t the only yellow glow in the area. With a thrill of excitement, he realized that he could-just barely-make out several other small glowing objects in his vision.
He held up a hand to cover his eyes for a second, afraid he was just imagining it. But no. It was almost imperceptible, but there was no question. His vision was slowly but surely recovering after all.
Relieved laughter bubbled up within him. He’d been trying not to think about it, and thought he had been succeeding, so it startled him to realize just how much lighter he felt all of a sudden.
With a wide grin, he stepped forward and reached to help Bella up, a gesture that was met with some confusion.
“…What are you doing?”
“Hmm?” he replied. “We’re done, aren’t we?”
She was silent for a moment before finally accepting the hand and allowing him to pull her up.
“You’re a strange boy, Yamamoto Ta-”
Suddenly she cut off, inhaling sharply. For a split second Yamamoto was worried that maybe she’d been more hurt than he had realized, but then her head snapped to the side as though staring off towards something far away, as her hadou went ice cold.
“No…” she said, sounding as though she was in shock. Then she was trying to stand again, but much too fast, stumbling and almost falling once more.
“H-hey!” he said, now very concerned but not sure what was going on. “Take it easy-”
“Let go-I have to-”
Then suddenly she gasped again, this time a much more pained and anguished sound. Before he could understand what was happening, she was sliding back down to her knees. If not for the grip he maintained on her arm, he thought she would have collapsed. Her attention still seemed fixed far off in the distance.
A cold feeling suddenly made its way into the pit of Yamamoto’s own stomach.
“What is it?” he said.
She didn’t respond.
---
For one long, terrifying moment, Tsuna couldn’t see anything.
But what scared him even more was that he didn’t know if he wanted to see.
Everything had happened so fast. He’d been fighting a group of DiSanto soldiers when suddenly his movements had ceased to be his own. It was like there was some instinct directing him that he was powerless to resist. Then he’d charged straight toward Gokudera, who had tried to defend himself with his shields, to no avail.
And then…
Tsuna felt sick to his stomach.
It had never before occurred to him just how terrible a power he held. Because it was his, and he was the one in control of it. It wasn’t a power to be used lightly, and he had never once done so. He’d only ever used that strength to protect his friends. To help keep them safe.
Words couldn’t describe the visceral horror of suddenly having that power used against them, and being unable to do anything to stop it. It was a violation of the worst kind, an unwilling reversal of everything he’d ever sought out to do with his Dying Will.
And he’d been helpless to do anything but watch as Gokudera had crumpled, folding in on himself, confused and reeling in pain and shock.
And still that had not been enough for Luca. The next thing Tsuna knew, he was powering up the X-Burner flame. And still he was helpless, and Gokudera was kneeling in front of him, already so badly hurt, and Tsuna saw his own powerlessness reflected in his eyes.
And then he’d fired, and screamed, because for that one terrible instant, he’d thought it was all over.
But just before the attack-not fully powered, but still more than enough to be fatal-had hit Gokudera, he’d seen a strange flash of movement. And then the light from the blast had temporarily blocked out everything else from his vision.
In that moment, as the light slowly faded, all he could think was, please don’t let him be dead, he can’t be dead. It seemed to drag out forever.
And then, finally, the light receded.
And Tsuna’s eyes widened.
Anthony Franco stood between him and Gokudera. His entire front side was a mass of burns, blackened and bloodied. He looked like he had taken the full brunt of the blast.
For a moment, he wavered on his feet. He blinked a few times, looking strangely calm.
Then he collapsed.
Tsuna heard a strangled cry from just outside his field of vision.
And then, without warning, the invisible grip holding him in place vanished as if it had never been.
For a moment his mind was blank. Then he saw the DiSanto men around him moving as well, with various looks of surprise and bewilderment. A few of them dropped their weapons.
Then Tsuna heard a wet, struggling cough, and all other thoughts flew from his mind. In an instant, he was at Gokudera’s side, the Dying Will flame dissolving away as he moved. “Gokudera-kun!”
He felt colder than he should have been, and his breathing was labored. But he was alive. Relief like Tsuna had never felt before flooded through him like a river bursting through a dam.
He immediately turned his attention to Gokudera’s injury. But that, too, was somehow not as bad as he had feared. By some miracle, he hadn’t gone all the way through, and the wound seemed to have cauterized somehow. Most likely from the flames, he realized with a shuddering feeling. But it seemed to have slowed the bleeding, and that could very well have saved Gokudera’s life.
He seemed to be hovering on the edge of consciousness, and his attention was not focused on Tsuna, but rather behind him. Suddenly, Tsuna remembered who had done this in the first place, and he twisted around, still holding Gokudera’s shoulders protectively.
But Luca was not moving to attack again. He was not, in fact, paying them any heed whatsoever. He stood frozen in place. And his expression…
Tsuna knew that look. Knew it because it was the same one he himself had been wearing only moments earlier.
“Boss…”
That was Anthony Franco. Luca took a few steps toward him, arms slack at his sides.
And then all at once he fell to his knees, eyes wide as he moved to Anthony’s side, hands hovering over his wounds in a frantic uncertainty. He glanced up, casting about desperately, but then faltering when he seemed to remember that his men were no longer obeying his commands.
Then a tiny figure stepped out from amongst the crowd. With a grave authority, Reborn looked up and addressed the man standing closest to him. “Call a healing squad. Now.”
The man hesitated for only a fraction of a second, then took off running.
“Hey… Luca…”
Tsuna watched as Luca looked back down at Anthony, his eyes still wide. All his prior wrath seemed to have sapped out from him all at once. He looked tired and afraid.
“You never lost me,” Anthony said quietly.
Luca’s lips opened slightly and then pressed together in a grimace, and Tsuna saw to his shock that he was crying.
“I’m sorry,” Anthony said. “Hey…”
His right hand shook slightly as he raised it. “All that pain you’ve got bottled up…” He reached out to touch Luca’s chest, resting his hand on its center. “Learn from it. Let it make you better. Don’t… don’t let it eat you up.”
Luca’s face contorted with sudden emotion, and for an instant, Tsuna was struck by just how much he looked like Gokudera.
Then Anthony’s hand suddenly went slack, and his head lolled back in Luca’s arms, just as the summoned medical team came rushing over.
Two of the medics ran up to Tsuna and Gokudera as well, and to Tsuna’s relief, he saw the familiar yellow glimmer of Sun flames as one of them immediately went to work on Gokudera’s injury. Tsuna allowed them to do so, but stayed close, holding onto his hand as they laid him back carefully on the ground.
His gaze was unfocused, but his eyes found Tsuna’s and he managed to smile faintly. Tsuna tried to smile back, but found all of a sudden that tears were forming unbidden in his eyes.
“I’m sorry,” he choked out. “I couldn’t…”
“It’s okay,” Gokudera replied, his voice not much stronger than a whisper, but still reassuring. “I’m all right.”
Words were failing him; he wanted to keep apologizing, and he also wanted to tell him how glad he was that he was okay. “Gokudera-kun…”
“…‘Hayato.’”
Tsuna’s heart jumped a beat in surprise. He blinked back at Gokudera, who was looking up at him with a gentle, trusting fondness.
And with a smile of his own, Tsuna wiped roughly at the tears still welled up.
“Hayato,” he acceded.
He looked back over at Luca and Anthony. The medics had surrounded the latter, blocking him from Tsuna’s view.
Luca hadn’t moved from his spot, and made no move to do so even when Reborn took a step toward him with a gun aimed at his head.
“Luca DiSanto.” His tone was sober. “This fight is over. What will you do now?”
Luca’s response, when it came, was in a subdued monotone. His eyes never moved from where Anthony lay, being attended to by the medics.
“I surrender,” he said.
---
(to be concluded...)
Return to Previous Chapter (09)
( Prologue | 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 )
Additional Notes - Oh man this time I have so many. Let’s see.
- Finally it’s finished. Oh my god. The final version of this chapter ended up being twice as long as the first draft, holy shit.
- It also ended up at least twice as gay.
- Elemento Sereno: Alba Assalto translates to “Sun Element: Dawn Assault.”
- And Yamamoto’s new Shigure Souen Ryu kata would be 夜雨 (Yau) in Japanese. Fun fact: the Japanese language has like 50 different words for rain. It was fun picking one out; I thought “Night” had a fitting ring to it, given that he developed it while blind.
- So just to clarify re: Luca’s powers-Gokudera was correct in hypothesizing that strong emotions caused him to lose control. They just didn’t correctly identify which kind of emotions. Anger actually makes them stronger, whereas sadness, hurt, and grief fuck them up. Maybe in a future draft I’ll try to make this more clear but I got tired.
- “Did Anthony just… die?” “You know, it was really unclear.”