dear 59-kun 24
(“/ / / /” = the beginning of a flashback, and “/” is the end of one. Thanks!)
Dear 59-kun
II: Downward Spirals
/ / / /
He was out of breath as he laid there on the floor, a trickle of blood coming from his lips. He’d already sent Xanxus away with orders not to be disobeyed, told his father to make sure things weren’t suspicious, and simply looked at Reborn, knowing that he would realize how to pull this off even if he said nothing.
“Are you sure about this, useless?” Reborn chided his student, looking him straight in the eye when his pupil was lying flat like this. “It’s going to be more dangerous than anything you’ve ever done before.”
“That doesn’t mean I can’t try,” Tsuna spat the blood from his lips and pushed himself up, even though he’d been badly injured. “Besides, they already think that it’s me. If I walk up to them and pass out practically on their doorstep, their first order of business would be at least to get rid of the evidence by taking me inside.”
His father sighed, and, upon realizing that his child wasn’t giving this up, simply ruffled his hair and wished him luck before disappearing, the baby hot on his heels.
When he’d gotten close enough, he leaned on a tree and closed his eyes, focusing to try and call him here. I know you’re there, Tsunayoshi thought to what seemed was himself, but as he tried to visualize, he saw what he was looking for. “Stop acting like I’m a fool.”
“Gained a backbone, Sawada Tsunayoshi?” Mukuro chuckled in his odd little way, miss-matched eyes half-open in this little grassy space. “So, what brings you so close to my turf?”
It was quiet as he stared straight at him before answering. “Training.”
“Surely you’re not trying to break me out now?” He smirked, idling closer to the other teenager. “That’d be reckless.”
“I really am here for training,” He whispered softly, eyes downcast. “I wish there was something I could do to get you out now, but…this was something Xanxus mentioned offhandedly, and I just couldn’t seem to let the idea go.”
“Surely not for yourself?” Mukuro hmmed, lounging on a bed that he’d probably put there. “I’ve seen you out there. Trying to kill yourself at last?”
“Not for me!” He almost yelled, but restrained himself. His eyes gleaned with what wanted to be tears, but he wouldn’t let them fall. “God, how I wish it was for me. This is…I wish…but they can’t just go on like they have been. They’re going to get killed.”
“Hmm,” The illusionist practically purred, amused by this whole prospect. “So you are gaining a backbone.”
“Shut up, Mukuro,” Tsuna spat, glaring harshly at his mist guardian. “I wouldn’t…I shouldn’t do this…but there’s no other way.”
“Why are you in such a rush, anyhow?” Mukuro wondered with another smirk, but it didn’t quite reach his two-toned eyes.
There was a silence for a while, and Tsuna finally answered. “Byakuran’s here.” Taken aback, his smirk wavered, and Mukuro chuckled darkly. “This isn’t funny! We barely survived the last time. But we only have a couple of weeks, at best, before he makes it here. There’s no way I can go home and train them one at a time, and we can’t seem to find all the Arcobalenoes so they could train us…but it seems a lot harder to do this when no one takes you seriously.” He clenched his fists in his pants, his forehead crinkled.
“Well,” The taller youth drawled lazily. “If they can break into this fortress, you might actually stand a chance. Xanxus wasn’t right in that.”
“If,” The brunette replied sadly, feeling disgusted with himself. The two settled into an odd sort of silence until he was startled awake by the masked guards coming and taking him to one of the levels of this prison.
-
I need you to do me a favor. Although he wasn’t asleep today-the third day since he’d been in here-he was close enough to have conversations with the other male inside of his mind.
Ku fu fu. Certainly you must think me daft, Sawada Tsunayoshi. Floating within the tank he’d been sanctioned in for quite some time now, his lengthening hair floating around his head. Since when did I say that I was on your side?
You didn’t, but I figure if you ever want a chance to posses me, or take the family down, you’d at least want them in your vicinity first, wouldn’t you? Tsuna cleverly quipped back, and received a chuckle back in response.
You’re getting rather good at this. Fine. What is it?
I need you to disguise him as me.
Although he couldn’t really do so, the brunette could practically see the illusionist raising an eyebrow. Who would that be?
Giotto.
Oya. In case you’ve forgotten, he’s dead.
But if I could make him materialize for a week, you could do it, right? Tsuna was relentless, brown eyes still closed, but his forehead crinkled in concentration. We’ve been talking, and I think we can pull it off. It’ll make the illusion easier to cast, too, because we look so much alike.
There was a silence in both of their minds until Mukuro laughed for a bit and then agreed. Tsuna told him that he’d have Giotto materialize just outside of Namimori, so that he was far from the Vendice, and close to home. However, in his casting, Mukuro seemed to have taken some of the memories he’d experienced in Tsuna’s mind and gave them to Giotto, making him vomit with the speed at which they hit him. After cleaning himself up a bit, he stared at his hands, seeing the blood that had been on the boy’s hands. He felt terrible for him, but stood up straight and went into to town, using what Mukuro had given him and what he’d seen in the boy himself to create his personality.
Reborn had showed up shortly after himself, and he didn’t want anything to seem amiss. He coached Giotto on everything, and tried to get him to remember that this was his home, at least in the body he was imitating right now. He taught him how to react to everything he said, what to do, what to say to his friends, and so on. With all of that, and the memories, he was even starting to forget how not to act like Tsuna. He was starting to feel horribly guilty for everything he’d pulled this young man into because of what he originally started…but he believed in him. He was smart adolescent, even if he couldn’t see it yet.
Deceiving Byakuran had been a bit difficult-listening to Reborn’s natural rebukes and then his apology for the reflex had been odd as well, but it was necessary. He could’ve been watching the place, or have it bugged. They stepped on eggshells after that.
Lying on that bed, listening to Reborn’s quiet words of advice, he realized that this was the second-to-last day he’d be here. From here on, it was up to those children.
/
“Come on,” Squalo kicked Gokudera into the bathroom. “Look, we’ve got a long damn flight, so you’d best bring something to do. And hurry it up!” With that, he turned on his heel and slammed the door, his silver hair swishing behind him.
Yamamoto, Squalo, and Mukuro stood around for a while, until the illusionist finally closed his eyes and let the body fade back into its proper owner’s-Chrome’s. She blinked a bit, exhausted from lending her powers to the male, but eventually joined the others, silently watching things unfold.
“What the hell is that fucking boss of mine thinking,” The shark spat, his gray eyes sharp and narrow. “Fucking around with brats. Is that what kind of shit he thinks I do on missions?!”
“Calm down, Squalo,” The other swordsman in the room said quietly, his fingers curled in his khakis. “We’ve got to come up with some sort of a plan. What about the rest of the Varia?”
“Out of the fucking question. It’ll be a miracle if we can get Bel to join us, Xanxus has been parading about himself since god-fucking-knows when, Lussuria’ll probably say that he’d rather not break his nails, some rookie we just took in to replace Gola Mosca is just damn annoying, and I’m already here. And don’t even get me fucking started on Mammon. He’s been practically AWOL since we fought you brats.”
“What about Sasagawa? Hibari?” Yamamoto was thinking aloud, his brown eyes set deep in a serious expression. “There’s no way we can bring the kid-it’s way too dangerous.”
“We might have to,” Gokudera finally emerged from the bathroom, seafoam green eyes glaring at no one in particular. “Leaving him here is far more dangerous, especially when Byakuran’s out there somewhere.”
Squalo finally just kicked down the front door, much to the irritation of the owner of this apartment. “Fuck it all. Let’s just get moving. I hate just standing around!” Gokudera grumbled, grabbing his laptop and cell phone. He made sure he had all the correct belts on, bombs loaded, ring secured on his finger, and then followed the other silver-haired male. Yamamoto slung his wooden sword-slash-actual katana over his shoulder, making sure that he had spares. Squalo always came prepared for these kinds of things, but he couldn’t be bothered with more brats. Instead, he focused on calling the Bucking Horse and managing to get them a ride to the airport, and then furthermore a flight to Italy.
“VOI! HORSE ASSHOLE!”
“Calm down, geez,” Dino whined from the other side, holding the cell farther from his ear now that he knew who it was. “What’s up?”
“Call your men and get us a ride to the airport! And a flight while you’re at it.”
He blinked large brown eyes, and held out a hand, his expression making Romario concerned. “Seriously?! How soon? Where to?”
“Namimori’s airport! Your stupid ‘bro’ is in Vendice, stupid horse!” Dino’s eyes hardened to a glare. “So HURRY THE FUCK UP!” With that, he ended the call, leaving the blonde on the other line to scramble to dial the right numbers and such.
Tsuna? In Vendice? His thoughts were running a mile a minute. “Romario!” He yelled to his right hand, who was quick to jump to attention. “Hurry up and prepare some rooms. We’re having guests tonight!” He saluted his boss and quickly gathered some people to do the job, seeing as he had to stay with Dino. He watched the young man with curious eyes. But he figured he’d find out soon enough.
/ / / /
“Pay attention, fucking trash,” Xanxus went to kick Tsuna in the shin, but was quickly evaded. A punch followed that the teen caught, then another, and then the brunette tripped his sparring partner, not exactly smiling, but he looked particularly satisfied. “You think you’re hot shit,” He went for him one more time once he’d pushed the shorter male’s hands away, but he was quickly parried again, making the observers of this match proud of the brunette.
However, the moment among the Vongola was quickly interrupted by an explosion nearby, rattling the very ground they stood on. Alert, Basil, Xanxus, Tsuna, Reborn, and Iemitsu looked to the source, eyes drawn in and their eyebrows furrowed.
“We’ve got to hide,” Reborn said quietly. “We don’t have enough time to get out of here without being noticed. Quickly, Tsuna.” He hopped on his charge’s shoulder as they ran and rolled into the shrubbery, watching a fight among what looked to be another powerful mafia family passing through. The brunette watched with a wavering heart, wanting badly to make it stop, but knowing that he couldn’t. Reborn was watching to make sure his charge didn’t burst in, holding his arm when he rustled the leaves from his reflex to stand up and interrupt this.
The two fighting were momentarily distracted by that. “Who’s there?!” One of the men yelled in rough Japanese. He approached the bushes nearest Tsuna’s knee for a moment until the other man stabbed him in the back, killing him. The brunette wanted to gasp, but held it in, sick to his stomach. It wasn’t as if he hadn’t dealt with death before…just recently, he and Xanxus had…No, no. He shook his head. He couldn’t think about that right now, especially when he was already feeling so nauseous.
“That’s what you get for worrying about chipmunks or some shit,” The man sneered, making Tsuna’s blood boil, and Reborn scowl. But they watched on. He was about to leave the premises until another man came, and behind him a hundred other men, all gathered as if united. They were probably the dead man’s family.
“There he is!” They shouted, beginning to charge the spot, making the man that had killed him flee in the distance. “He’s the one that killed our boss!” Feet pounded the ground, and Tsuna continued to breath lightly, trying to go unnoticed. But he was so close to the body, which the killer had thrown into the bushes next to him. Most of them were gone by this point, but two had lingered, one with a keen nose, trying to find the body. Noticing, the brunette was floored. He wanted to leave, he wanted to explain the situation, he wanted to fake dead himself. But he ended up halfway through following Reborn and hightailing it out of there when one of them caught his arm and yelled to his comrade. “There’s someone else here!” Kicking the man off of him, he continued to try and flee, but he was quickly caught again. He could’ve used his full power to take care of them, but something ran through his mind. He realized that he’d said it as an offhand comment, but…
He spared a glance at Reborn, knowing that he’d get it. His eyes didn’t approve at first, but Tsuna nodded and smiled calmly, giving himself up. He played it up, convinced them that he’d done it, and the family eventually called the experts for this sort of thing-the Vendice. Although they knew who he was during his investigation, and were fairly sure that he couldn’t prove that he hadn’t killed this man, they pressed him for more answers. He chose to stay silent, however, and for the nearly impenetrable jail, that was enough.
/
The wait in the airport was long, especially because Dino was still trying to get everything worked out. Squalo was making loud phone calls in a private room, Yamamoto was thinking to himself, Hibari and Ryohei hadn’t turned up yet, the brat was running around in circles, and Chrome was quietly dozing to herself. She’d told Gokudera and the rest that Ken and Chikusa would probably turn up there, if it meant a chance to save Mukuro, although it was unlikely and extremely difficult to do.
The silver-haired youth, however, was mentally at a distance. Trying to do something with his hands because he was anxious, he started playing with his lighter, then his rings, and then his cell phone. But he couldn’t do anything on it aside from typing and deleting, so he eventually resolved to fall back on his laptop, as per usual.
He wasn’t really in the best mood for this sort of thing, but it was nice to do something mindless like this instead of spending all his free time bitching at everyone else. It kept him quiet, and it kept the tension in the room lower, although most of them were already pretty freaking high-strung.
…
Dear 59-kun,
O-ho. Looks like Byaku-I mean, our boss has paid the Decimo a visit. It won't be long now before your world is turned upside-down. And you won't be able to do anything about it. This is just a warning. We'll have our revenge.
-Bellflower
…
Dear Na Na Na Na Na Naa~,
Fuck that shit. We’re going to take you down, naked woman. It is SO on.
…
Dear 59-kun,
I kinda wish you weren't gay but ... good luck. We're all cheering for you, even if it doesn't look like it. Get your Tenth back, yeah? We all want you to be happy.
Somewhere in all your bitchy snark I think we actually came to like you.
Well-Wisher
…
Dear Well It’s About Damn Time,
It only took half of forever. But thanks. We’re going to. It’s to repay him for all the times he’s helped us.
…
59-kun,
If you're who I think you are, then you’re the nasty little boy who lives next door and creates far too much noise. Stop before I call the police, this is getting quite silly. I put up with the semi-constant bomb explosions (fireworks my arse), the teenagers hiding in the bushes, gunshots and people in black fedoras talking to me in bad Italian accents, but this is really the last straw. I don't know what game you're playing, but stop it before I get you thrown out.
Disturbed Neighbour.
…
Dear I’m Not Even At Home, For God’s Sake,
Well, I hope you’re happy, lady. I won’t be back for a long time. I make no promises about all the other shit-it’s a part of my life, so suck it up. It’s gonna be around for a long time, and if you don’t like it, you can skip town. I have business there, and there’s no fucking way you’re kicking me out. Trust me. I have connections.
…And you’re just as bad as some idiots I know. Gunshots and bombs, really? What kind of crack are you smoking to think that’s a damn game?
…
Dear 59-kun,
Tsu-kun!
Gokurdera-kun! Tsu-kun! Tsu-kun has disappeared again! What should I do? He left without telling me again... What do I do? He…He's a-alright, r-right..? T-Tsu-kun will be alright, right G-Gokudera-kun?
T-that's right.. Yes! Tsu-kun will definitely come back to me.
-Nana/Maman
…
Dear Maman,
Don’t worry, Maman. He’s, uh…on vacation! We’re going to go join him, and then we’ll be back. Sorry for not telling you first.
He’ll be just fine.
…
Dear 59-chan,
Hmm~ so naïve, aren't you, Gokudera-kun? You should be more alert if you really want to be a good right-hand man!
I wonder how Tsuna-kun is right now...maybe I'll visit him again later tonight~
Ja ne!
-IEatMarshmallow-
…
Dear I Hope Your Marshmallows Are Covered With A Healthy Dose of SHIT,
I am alert! I was just preoccupied, god damn it! And I know I need to improve-I don’t need you to tell me that.
Don’t. You. Fucking. Dare.
…
Dear Peasant,
Ushishishi~ is it true that Sawada is in Vendice? Then good luck finding him, even though you're just a peasant~
Oh, and take this stupid useless annoying froggy kouhai-
I am NOT a frog, useless senpai...Ow that hurts, stupid senpai...stop with the knive- aah...
...away, after the Prince is done with him, ushishishishi.
-Prince the Ripper(not)-
…
Dear Good! Get Off Your Lazy Asses and Help Us!,
Tell your fucking boss that! As a matter of fact, I’ll tell him myself!
You and Fran can both lend a hand, assholes, whether you’re a damn prince or not.
…
YO TAKO- I MEAN 59-SAN,
COME TO THE NAMIMORI BOXING CLUB TO THE EXTREME! I'LL BE WAITING FOR YOU TO JOIN TO THE EXTREME! AND BRING SAWADA AND YAMAMOTO TO THE EXTREME!
BOXER-TO THE EXTREME
(P.S. KANGARYU CAN HELP YOU TRAIN TO THE EXTREME TOO!)
…
Dear WHY DON’T YOU HAVE AN OFF BUTTON?,
For the last time, I will not join your damn club! Actually, I’m not meeting you anywhere-you should be meeting us at the airport! What a moron!
IF YOU SAY EXTREME ONE MORE TIME, I WILL KILL THE REMAINING BRAIN CELLS YOU HAVE.
…
Dear 59-kun,
YOU SHOULD ALL HURRY AND SAVE VONGOLA DECIMO!
THEY ARE AFTER US ALL...
AM AFRAID THIS WILL B...
Wait don't shoot-t...
…
Dear Who In the Hell…,
We’re trying to get there as fast as possible!
And shit…stop making me feel so paranoid.
…
Dear 59,
Could you please save Tsuna already? I mean, he's screaming really loud from being tortured and I can't sleep! Its very annoying -_-". Also he keeps whispering, "I'm sorry, Gokudera". Strange, right? Please shut him up already.
Yours Truly,
In Need Of Sleep
…
Dear As Noted Above,
I’ll decide what’s annoying or not, stupid. What’s fucking annoying is that nobody’s telling me what the hell is happening until the very last second, and now the shit’s hit the fan. That’s what’s annoying.
So you just hold onto your jock until we get there, got that?
…
Dear 59-san,
Sorry I haven't been able to send you a letter in a while (though I don't think you mind) I've been quite busy moving to the states... heh heh...Shibusen is amazing! Though it's level of eccentricity is surpasses all of Namimori put together. I swear the moon was grinning at me! And it was bleeding! And there are students at the school that can turn into weapons! I'm have a partner who can turn into a weapon! ^^ I'm quite terrible at fighting though... And, and the principal's name is Shinigami-sama!
I've made friends since moving here! Though I'm struggling with the language there are students who speak Japanese here. I'm so glad.
P.S. There is someone who reminds me of you here. He's loud and rude and he's always shouting about surpassing god whereas you're always shouting about becoming the "Juudaime's right hand man".
-Namimori Miko-san
…
Dear You’re A Foreigner Now,
Well, glad that somebody’s having a good time on this god-forsaken planet. Americans can definitely be a little weird, so be careful. I mean, using people as weapons? Pshaw. That’s already some crazy bull. And you have a…a Death God for a principal? I’m so glad I’m not American.
Of course. Japanese people go to America too. What are you, stupid?
And surpassing god? He must be a retard. Being someone that others can depend on is an entirely different scale.
…
Dear 59,
Hayato. Father sent me a letter. A letter he received long ago, forgotten in the dust of the drawers. The letter.. It's from your mother. The letter was for you. Father was asked by her to give it to you at a time he thought was right.
He knew you might not be able to face him still, so he gave it to me. But, I know you might not come face me yourself so I took the honor of opening it.
The letter states:
"Hayato,
How have you been doing?
Are you still playing the piano? Have you gotten better than the last I saw you play? Do you still enjoy playing it? The piano. When you played the piano your smile was so big and bright, so keep playing the piano.
Hayato... How you must have grown by now. Are you busy studying for school?
Remember to always keep smiling. One day.. You'll definitely meet someone who you will cherish. Someone who you will love with all your heart, and make sure you have lots of friends too! Keep smiling for that person, Hayato, for your friends…and for yourself.
-Your Piano Teacher"
... Even in the end she didn't tell you she was your mother... Hayato, she wanted you to be happy. Father and I too. As your sister, your family, we want you to be happy, Hayato. So please don't make a mistake and end up regretting it.
I- We love you, Hayato.
-Bianchi
…
When he read this one from his mom, it made him think of that message from the other day. Although it had been short and vague, he’d wished there’d been more. Maybe it was another letter from Bianchi that hadn’t had explanation behind it? After all, his mother was dead. Shaking his head, trying not to think about it much. Things were different now. He wasn’t the unwanted, illegitimate child, scorned by his mother. He’d been loved by her, even if it was from a distance.
Although he wasn’t sure how to respond at first, he eventually settled on sending his sister an e-mail back, glancing at his watch and his surroundings. He had a few more minutes, according to the noisy shark.
Oy, Bianchi,
I…I know what you’re trying to say, so, yeah. Thanks, I guess.
I never regretted anything. I still don’t.
After that, he ran a hand through his hair and began to shake his leg impatiently. They’d already been there an hour, and every second wasted was another second the Tenth was getting tortured, or something else equally as frightening for him. His heart raced and his chest constricted. Just thinking about it made him want to kill someone. He shut his eyes tight and shut the laptop, refusing to look at anything else.
Yamamoto quietly placed a hand on his shoulder and spoke. “The plane’s here,” He said, standing up and offering the other teenager a hand that he refused without saying anything.
Standing on his own two legs, eyebrows furrowed, he looked ahead and walked with one of his hands in his pocket, the other holding his laptop. “’Bout damn time.”
The dark-haired youth wanted to tell him the good news-that between Squalo and Iemitsu-san, they’d gained the help of the Varia, Dino’s men, the CEDEF, Lal, Colonello, and a handful of others. Ryohei and Hibari turned up moments before the jet’s takeoff, the prefect strolling in like he owned the place, and the athlete sweating like he’d run to the airport just now. But he didn’t want to interrupt his crush when he looked like that-it wouldn’t be good for his sanity. For now, he could only watch as Gokudera started to blame himself, falling into a rut he wouldn’t be able to completely get out of without their boss’s help.
Just when he needs you the most, Tsuna, Yamamoto thought painfully, his heart panging. You two can’t even live without each other. Just what in the world is going on?
He spared one more glance at Gokudera, placing a hand on his shoulder and smiling reassuringly, even though he honestly wanted to commit bloody murder himself. Although he didn’t smile, the silver-haired pianist only closed his eyes for a moment and turned his head outside the window.
It’s gonna be a lonnnnng flight, the baseball player thought with a wry smile.
…
A vision materialized in his mind this evening, and both Tsuna and Mukuro weren’t so much surprised as pissed off. “No need to be so hostile, you two,” The albino grinned happily, something that was never a good sign. “I’ve only come to say hello again. I won’t make my move until you’re feeling more positive, Tsunayoshi-kun. I know how to strike when your spirits are up. It’s the best time.”
He glared, but didn’t rise to his quip. The lavender-eyed man continued to talk to virtually himself, but both of his listeners waited for his departure. “Of course, it’ll be when your little followers are exhausted, too. You may be strong, but not strong enough to take all of us.” His voice became dangerously low, and his eyes opened to narrow slits. “I hope you’re prepared.”
“Whenever you are,” The brunette quipped, sounding equally as dangerous. His eyes glinted a burnt amber, focused on the man who had almost destroyed the future for all of them, and now he was trying for the present.
He chuckled as he dissipated, and Mukuro’s chuckle shortly followed it.
“I despise that man,” He murmured amusedly. “He waltzes in like it’s the convenience store.”
He received no more response than the other teenager’s clenched fists and deep eyes staring at where Byakuran had just been. Although he said nothing, he thought, You may be powerful…but you’re in for a surprise, Byakuran.
Tsuna let his dark brown eyes fall closed with a little half-smile, letting his mind fall into more peaceful thoughts than that. Thinking about the focused seafoam green eyes of a certain someone, and their hair blowing in the gust created by the bombs crossed his mind, and the illusionist privy to the sights made a noise of disgust before laughing at him and stepping out from that dream.
Once their link was partially severed enough to not talk to each other or see each other within that world, Mukuro thought to himself, Although I simply cannot stand that Vongola…this is an especially cruel thing to do to yourself, Sawada Tsunayoshi. To deprive yourself of something you know you can have-I underestimated you once again.
After that, he decided to let himself fall into the realm of dreams, the cold water of the tank pushing his hair around in his sleep.
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Dear 59-kun
II: Downward Spirals
/ / / /
He was out of breath as he laid there on the floor, a trickle of blood coming from his lips. He’d already sent Xanxus away with orders not to be disobeyed, told his father to make sure things weren’t suspicious, and simply looked at Reborn, knowing that he would realize how to pull this off even if he said nothing.
“Are you sure about this, useless?” Reborn chided his student, looking him straight in the eye when his pupil was lying flat like this. “It’s going to be more dangerous than anything you’ve ever done before.”
“That doesn’t mean I can’t try,” Tsuna spat the blood from his lips and pushed himself up, even though he’d been badly injured. “Besides, they already think that it’s me. If I walk up to them and pass out practically on their doorstep, their first order of business would be at least to get rid of the evidence by taking me inside.”
His father sighed, and, upon realizing that his child wasn’t giving this up, simply ruffled his hair and wished him luck before disappearing, the baby hot on his heels.
When he’d gotten close enough, he leaned on a tree and closed his eyes, focusing to try and call him here. I know you’re there, Tsunayoshi thought to what seemed was himself, but as he tried to visualize, he saw what he was looking for. “Stop acting like I’m a fool.”
“Gained a backbone, Sawada Tsunayoshi?” Mukuro chuckled in his odd little way, miss-matched eyes half-open in this little grassy space. “So, what brings you so close to my turf?”
It was quiet as he stared straight at him before answering. “Training.”
“Surely you’re not trying to break me out now?” He smirked, idling closer to the other teenager. “That’d be reckless.”
“I really am here for training,” He whispered softly, eyes downcast. “I wish there was something I could do to get you out now, but…this was something Xanxus mentioned offhandedly, and I just couldn’t seem to let the idea go.”
“Surely not for yourself?” Mukuro hmmed, lounging on a bed that he’d probably put there. “I’ve seen you out there. Trying to kill yourself at last?”
“Not for me!” He almost yelled, but restrained himself. His eyes gleaned with what wanted to be tears, but he wouldn’t let them fall. “God, how I wish it was for me. This is…I wish…but they can’t just go on like they have been. They’re going to get killed.”
“Hmm,” The illusionist practically purred, amused by this whole prospect. “So you are gaining a backbone.”
“Shut up, Mukuro,” Tsuna spat, glaring harshly at his mist guardian. “I wouldn’t…I shouldn’t do this…but there’s no other way.”
“Why are you in such a rush, anyhow?” Mukuro wondered with another smirk, but it didn’t quite reach his two-toned eyes.
There was a silence for a while, and Tsuna finally answered. “Byakuran’s here.” Taken aback, his smirk wavered, and Mukuro chuckled darkly. “This isn’t funny! We barely survived the last time. But we only have a couple of weeks, at best, before he makes it here. There’s no way I can go home and train them one at a time, and we can’t seem to find all the Arcobalenoes so they could train us…but it seems a lot harder to do this when no one takes you seriously.” He clenched his fists in his pants, his forehead crinkled.
“Well,” The taller youth drawled lazily. “If they can break into this fortress, you might actually stand a chance. Xanxus wasn’t right in that.”
“If,” The brunette replied sadly, feeling disgusted with himself. The two settled into an odd sort of silence until he was startled awake by the masked guards coming and taking him to one of the levels of this prison.
-
I need you to do me a favor. Although he wasn’t asleep today-the third day since he’d been in here-he was close enough to have conversations with the other male inside of his mind.
Ku fu fu. Certainly you must think me daft, Sawada Tsunayoshi. Floating within the tank he’d been sanctioned in for quite some time now, his lengthening hair floating around his head. Since when did I say that I was on your side?
You didn’t, but I figure if you ever want a chance to posses me, or take the family down, you’d at least want them in your vicinity first, wouldn’t you? Tsuna cleverly quipped back, and received a chuckle back in response.
You’re getting rather good at this. Fine. What is it?
I need you to disguise him as me.
Although he couldn’t really do so, the brunette could practically see the illusionist raising an eyebrow. Who would that be?
Giotto.
Oya. In case you’ve forgotten, he’s dead.
But if I could make him materialize for a week, you could do it, right? Tsuna was relentless, brown eyes still closed, but his forehead crinkled in concentration. We’ve been talking, and I think we can pull it off. It’ll make the illusion easier to cast, too, because we look so much alike.
There was a silence in both of their minds until Mukuro laughed for a bit and then agreed. Tsuna told him that he’d have Giotto materialize just outside of Namimori, so that he was far from the Vendice, and close to home. However, in his casting, Mukuro seemed to have taken some of the memories he’d experienced in Tsuna’s mind and gave them to Giotto, making him vomit with the speed at which they hit him. After cleaning himself up a bit, he stared at his hands, seeing the blood that had been on the boy’s hands. He felt terrible for him, but stood up straight and went into to town, using what Mukuro had given him and what he’d seen in the boy himself to create his personality.
Reborn had showed up shortly after himself, and he didn’t want anything to seem amiss. He coached Giotto on everything, and tried to get him to remember that this was his home, at least in the body he was imitating right now. He taught him how to react to everything he said, what to do, what to say to his friends, and so on. With all of that, and the memories, he was even starting to forget how not to act like Tsuna. He was starting to feel horribly guilty for everything he’d pulled this young man into because of what he originally started…but he believed in him. He was smart adolescent, even if he couldn’t see it yet.
Deceiving Byakuran had been a bit difficult-listening to Reborn’s natural rebukes and then his apology for the reflex had been odd as well, but it was necessary. He could’ve been watching the place, or have it bugged. They stepped on eggshells after that.
Lying on that bed, listening to Reborn’s quiet words of advice, he realized that this was the second-to-last day he’d be here. From here on, it was up to those children.
/
“Come on,” Squalo kicked Gokudera into the bathroom. “Look, we’ve got a long damn flight, so you’d best bring something to do. And hurry it up!” With that, he turned on his heel and slammed the door, his silver hair swishing behind him.
Yamamoto, Squalo, and Mukuro stood around for a while, until the illusionist finally closed his eyes and let the body fade back into its proper owner’s-Chrome’s. She blinked a bit, exhausted from lending her powers to the male, but eventually joined the others, silently watching things unfold.
“What the hell is that fucking boss of mine thinking,” The shark spat, his gray eyes sharp and narrow. “Fucking around with brats. Is that what kind of shit he thinks I do on missions?!”
“Calm down, Squalo,” The other swordsman in the room said quietly, his fingers curled in his khakis. “We’ve got to come up with some sort of a plan. What about the rest of the Varia?”
“Out of the fucking question. It’ll be a miracle if we can get Bel to join us, Xanxus has been parading about himself since god-fucking-knows when, Lussuria’ll probably say that he’d rather not break his nails, some rookie we just took in to replace Gola Mosca is just damn annoying, and I’m already here. And don’t even get me fucking started on Mammon. He’s been practically AWOL since we fought you brats.”
“What about Sasagawa? Hibari?” Yamamoto was thinking aloud, his brown eyes set deep in a serious expression. “There’s no way we can bring the kid-it’s way too dangerous.”
“We might have to,” Gokudera finally emerged from the bathroom, seafoam green eyes glaring at no one in particular. “Leaving him here is far more dangerous, especially when Byakuran’s out there somewhere.”
Squalo finally just kicked down the front door, much to the irritation of the owner of this apartment. “Fuck it all. Let’s just get moving. I hate just standing around!” Gokudera grumbled, grabbing his laptop and cell phone. He made sure he had all the correct belts on, bombs loaded, ring secured on his finger, and then followed the other silver-haired male. Yamamoto slung his wooden sword-slash-actual katana over his shoulder, making sure that he had spares. Squalo always came prepared for these kinds of things, but he couldn’t be bothered with more brats. Instead, he focused on calling the Bucking Horse and managing to get them a ride to the airport, and then furthermore a flight to Italy.
“VOI! HORSE ASSHOLE!”
“Calm down, geez,” Dino whined from the other side, holding the cell farther from his ear now that he knew who it was. “What’s up?”
“Call your men and get us a ride to the airport! And a flight while you’re at it.”
He blinked large brown eyes, and held out a hand, his expression making Romario concerned. “Seriously?! How soon? Where to?”
“Namimori’s airport! Your stupid ‘bro’ is in Vendice, stupid horse!” Dino’s eyes hardened to a glare. “So HURRY THE FUCK UP!” With that, he ended the call, leaving the blonde on the other line to scramble to dial the right numbers and such.
Tsuna? In Vendice? His thoughts were running a mile a minute. “Romario!” He yelled to his right hand, who was quick to jump to attention. “Hurry up and prepare some rooms. We’re having guests tonight!” He saluted his boss and quickly gathered some people to do the job, seeing as he had to stay with Dino. He watched the young man with curious eyes. But he figured he’d find out soon enough.
/ / / /
“Pay attention, fucking trash,” Xanxus went to kick Tsuna in the shin, but was quickly evaded. A punch followed that the teen caught, then another, and then the brunette tripped his sparring partner, not exactly smiling, but he looked particularly satisfied. “You think you’re hot shit,” He went for him one more time once he’d pushed the shorter male’s hands away, but he was quickly parried again, making the observers of this match proud of the brunette.
However, the moment among the Vongola was quickly interrupted by an explosion nearby, rattling the very ground they stood on. Alert, Basil, Xanxus, Tsuna, Reborn, and Iemitsu looked to the source, eyes drawn in and their eyebrows furrowed.
“We’ve got to hide,” Reborn said quietly. “We don’t have enough time to get out of here without being noticed. Quickly, Tsuna.” He hopped on his charge’s shoulder as they ran and rolled into the shrubbery, watching a fight among what looked to be another powerful mafia family passing through. The brunette watched with a wavering heart, wanting badly to make it stop, but knowing that he couldn’t. Reborn was watching to make sure his charge didn’t burst in, holding his arm when he rustled the leaves from his reflex to stand up and interrupt this.
The two fighting were momentarily distracted by that. “Who’s there?!” One of the men yelled in rough Japanese. He approached the bushes nearest Tsuna’s knee for a moment until the other man stabbed him in the back, killing him. The brunette wanted to gasp, but held it in, sick to his stomach. It wasn’t as if he hadn’t dealt with death before…just recently, he and Xanxus had…No, no. He shook his head. He couldn’t think about that right now, especially when he was already feeling so nauseous.
“That’s what you get for worrying about chipmunks or some shit,” The man sneered, making Tsuna’s blood boil, and Reborn scowl. But they watched on. He was about to leave the premises until another man came, and behind him a hundred other men, all gathered as if united. They were probably the dead man’s family.
“There he is!” They shouted, beginning to charge the spot, making the man that had killed him flee in the distance. “He’s the one that killed our boss!” Feet pounded the ground, and Tsuna continued to breath lightly, trying to go unnoticed. But he was so close to the body, which the killer had thrown into the bushes next to him. Most of them were gone by this point, but two had lingered, one with a keen nose, trying to find the body. Noticing, the brunette was floored. He wanted to leave, he wanted to explain the situation, he wanted to fake dead himself. But he ended up halfway through following Reborn and hightailing it out of there when one of them caught his arm and yelled to his comrade. “There’s someone else here!” Kicking the man off of him, he continued to try and flee, but he was quickly caught again. He could’ve used his full power to take care of them, but something ran through his mind. He realized that he’d said it as an offhand comment, but…
He spared a glance at Reborn, knowing that he’d get it. His eyes didn’t approve at first, but Tsuna nodded and smiled calmly, giving himself up. He played it up, convinced them that he’d done it, and the family eventually called the experts for this sort of thing-the Vendice. Although they knew who he was during his investigation, and were fairly sure that he couldn’t prove that he hadn’t killed this man, they pressed him for more answers. He chose to stay silent, however, and for the nearly impenetrable jail, that was enough.
/
The wait in the airport was long, especially because Dino was still trying to get everything worked out. Squalo was making loud phone calls in a private room, Yamamoto was thinking to himself, Hibari and Ryohei hadn’t turned up yet, the brat was running around in circles, and Chrome was quietly dozing to herself. She’d told Gokudera and the rest that Ken and Chikusa would probably turn up there, if it meant a chance to save Mukuro, although it was unlikely and extremely difficult to do.
The silver-haired youth, however, was mentally at a distance. Trying to do something with his hands because he was anxious, he started playing with his lighter, then his rings, and then his cell phone. But he couldn’t do anything on it aside from typing and deleting, so he eventually resolved to fall back on his laptop, as per usual.
He wasn’t really in the best mood for this sort of thing, but it was nice to do something mindless like this instead of spending all his free time bitching at everyone else. It kept him quiet, and it kept the tension in the room lower, although most of them were already pretty freaking high-strung.
…
Dear 59-kun,
O-ho. Looks like Byaku-I mean, our boss has paid the Decimo a visit. It won't be long now before your world is turned upside-down. And you won't be able to do anything about it. This is just a warning. We'll have our revenge.
-Bellflower
…
Dear Na Na Na Na Na Naa~,
Fuck that shit. We’re going to take you down, naked woman. It is SO on.
…
Dear 59-kun,
I kinda wish you weren't gay but ... good luck. We're all cheering for you, even if it doesn't look like it. Get your Tenth back, yeah? We all want you to be happy.
Somewhere in all your bitchy snark I think we actually came to like you.
Well-Wisher
…
Dear Well It’s About Damn Time,
It only took half of forever. But thanks. We’re going to. It’s to repay him for all the times he’s helped us.
…
59-kun,
If you're who I think you are, then you’re the nasty little boy who lives next door and creates far too much noise. Stop before I call the police, this is getting quite silly. I put up with the semi-constant bomb explosions (fireworks my arse), the teenagers hiding in the bushes, gunshots and people in black fedoras talking to me in bad Italian accents, but this is really the last straw. I don't know what game you're playing, but stop it before I get you thrown out.
Disturbed Neighbour.
…
Dear I’m Not Even At Home, For God’s Sake,
Well, I hope you’re happy, lady. I won’t be back for a long time. I make no promises about all the other shit-it’s a part of my life, so suck it up. It’s gonna be around for a long time, and if you don’t like it, you can skip town. I have business there, and there’s no fucking way you’re kicking me out. Trust me. I have connections.
…And you’re just as bad as some idiots I know. Gunshots and bombs, really? What kind of crack are you smoking to think that’s a damn game?
…
Dear 59-kun,
Tsu-kun!
Gokurdera-kun! Tsu-kun! Tsu-kun has disappeared again! What should I do? He left without telling me again... What do I do? He…He's a-alright, r-right..? T-Tsu-kun will be alright, right G-Gokudera-kun?
T-that's right.. Yes! Tsu-kun will definitely come back to me.
-Nana/Maman
…
Dear Maman,
Don’t worry, Maman. He’s, uh…on vacation! We’re going to go join him, and then we’ll be back. Sorry for not telling you first.
He’ll be just fine.
…
Dear 59-chan,
Hmm~ so naïve, aren't you, Gokudera-kun? You should be more alert if you really want to be a good right-hand man!
I wonder how Tsuna-kun is right now...maybe I'll visit him again later tonight~
Ja ne!
-IEatMarshmallow-
…
Dear I Hope Your Marshmallows Are Covered With A Healthy Dose of SHIT,
I am alert! I was just preoccupied, god damn it! And I know I need to improve-I don’t need you to tell me that.
Don’t. You. Fucking. Dare.
…
Dear Peasant,
Ushishishi~ is it true that Sawada is in Vendice? Then good luck finding him, even though you're just a peasant~
Oh, and take this stupid useless annoying froggy kouhai-
I am NOT a frog, useless senpai...Ow that hurts, stupid senpai...stop with the knive- aah...
...away, after the Prince is done with him, ushishishishi.
-Prince the Ripper(not)-
…
Dear Good! Get Off Your Lazy Asses and Help Us!,
Tell your fucking boss that! As a matter of fact, I’ll tell him myself!
You and Fran can both lend a hand, assholes, whether you’re a damn prince or not.
…
YO TAKO- I MEAN 59-SAN,
COME TO THE NAMIMORI BOXING CLUB TO THE EXTREME! I'LL BE WAITING FOR YOU TO JOIN TO THE EXTREME! AND BRING SAWADA AND YAMAMOTO TO THE EXTREME!
BOXER-TO THE EXTREME
(P.S. KANGARYU CAN HELP YOU TRAIN TO THE EXTREME TOO!)
…
Dear WHY DON’T YOU HAVE AN OFF BUTTON?,
For the last time, I will not join your damn club! Actually, I’m not meeting you anywhere-you should be meeting us at the airport! What a moron!
IF YOU SAY EXTREME ONE MORE TIME, I WILL KILL THE REMAINING BRAIN CELLS YOU HAVE.
…
Dear 59-kun,
YOU SHOULD ALL HURRY AND SAVE VONGOLA DECIMO!
THEY ARE AFTER US ALL...
AM AFRAID THIS WILL B...
Wait don't shoot-t...
…
Dear Who In the Hell…,
We’re trying to get there as fast as possible!
And shit…stop making me feel so paranoid.
…
Dear 59,
Could you please save Tsuna already? I mean, he's screaming really loud from being tortured and I can't sleep! Its very annoying -_-". Also he keeps whispering, "I'm sorry, Gokudera". Strange, right? Please shut him up already.
Yours Truly,
In Need Of Sleep
…
Dear As Noted Above,
I’ll decide what’s annoying or not, stupid. What’s fucking annoying is that nobody’s telling me what the hell is happening until the very last second, and now the shit’s hit the fan. That’s what’s annoying.
So you just hold onto your jock until we get there, got that?
…
Dear 59-san,
Sorry I haven't been able to send you a letter in a while (though I don't think you mind) I've been quite busy moving to the states... heh heh...Shibusen is amazing! Though it's level of eccentricity is surpasses all of Namimori put together. I swear the moon was grinning at me! And it was bleeding! And there are students at the school that can turn into weapons! I'm have a partner who can turn into a weapon! ^^ I'm quite terrible at fighting though... And, and the principal's name is Shinigami-sama!
I've made friends since moving here! Though I'm struggling with the language there are students who speak Japanese here. I'm so glad.
P.S. There is someone who reminds me of you here. He's loud and rude and he's always shouting about surpassing god whereas you're always shouting about becoming the "Juudaime's right hand man".
-Namimori Miko-san
…
Dear You’re A Foreigner Now,
Well, glad that somebody’s having a good time on this god-forsaken planet. Americans can definitely be a little weird, so be careful. I mean, using people as weapons? Pshaw. That’s already some crazy bull. And you have a…a Death God for a principal? I’m so glad I’m not American.
Of course. Japanese people go to America too. What are you, stupid?
And surpassing god? He must be a retard. Being someone that others can depend on is an entirely different scale.
…
Dear 59,
Hayato. Father sent me a letter. A letter he received long ago, forgotten in the dust of the drawers. The letter.. It's from your mother. The letter was for you. Father was asked by her to give it to you at a time he thought was right.
He knew you might not be able to face him still, so he gave it to me. But, I know you might not come face me yourself so I took the honor of opening it.
The letter states:
"Hayato,
How have you been doing?
Are you still playing the piano? Have you gotten better than the last I saw you play? Do you still enjoy playing it? The piano. When you played the piano your smile was so big and bright, so keep playing the piano.
Hayato... How you must have grown by now. Are you busy studying for school?
Remember to always keep smiling. One day.. You'll definitely meet someone who you will cherish. Someone who you will love with all your heart, and make sure you have lots of friends too! Keep smiling for that person, Hayato, for your friends…and for yourself.
-Your Piano Teacher"
... Even in the end she didn't tell you she was your mother... Hayato, she wanted you to be happy. Father and I too. As your sister, your family, we want you to be happy, Hayato. So please don't make a mistake and end up regretting it.
I- We love you, Hayato.
-Bianchi
…
When he read this one from his mom, it made him think of that message from the other day. Although it had been short and vague, he’d wished there’d been more. Maybe it was another letter from Bianchi that hadn’t had explanation behind it? After all, his mother was dead. Shaking his head, trying not to think about it much. Things were different now. He wasn’t the unwanted, illegitimate child, scorned by his mother. He’d been loved by her, even if it was from a distance.
Although he wasn’t sure how to respond at first, he eventually settled on sending his sister an e-mail back, glancing at his watch and his surroundings. He had a few more minutes, according to the noisy shark.
Oy, Bianchi,
I…I know what you’re trying to say, so, yeah. Thanks, I guess.
I never regretted anything. I still don’t.
After that, he ran a hand through his hair and began to shake his leg impatiently. They’d already been there an hour, and every second wasted was another second the Tenth was getting tortured, or something else equally as frightening for him. His heart raced and his chest constricted. Just thinking about it made him want to kill someone. He shut his eyes tight and shut the laptop, refusing to look at anything else.
Yamamoto quietly placed a hand on his shoulder and spoke. “The plane’s here,” He said, standing up and offering the other teenager a hand that he refused without saying anything.
Standing on his own two legs, eyebrows furrowed, he looked ahead and walked with one of his hands in his pocket, the other holding his laptop. “’Bout damn time.”
The dark-haired youth wanted to tell him the good news-that between Squalo and Iemitsu-san, they’d gained the help of the Varia, Dino’s men, the CEDEF, Lal, Colonello, and a handful of others. Ryohei and Hibari turned up moments before the jet’s takeoff, the prefect strolling in like he owned the place, and the athlete sweating like he’d run to the airport just now. But he didn’t want to interrupt his crush when he looked like that-it wouldn’t be good for his sanity. For now, he could only watch as Gokudera started to blame himself, falling into a rut he wouldn’t be able to completely get out of without their boss’s help.
Just when he needs you the most, Tsuna, Yamamoto thought painfully, his heart panging. You two can’t even live without each other. Just what in the world is going on?
He spared one more glance at Gokudera, placing a hand on his shoulder and smiling reassuringly, even though he honestly wanted to commit bloody murder himself. Although he didn’t smile, the silver-haired pianist only closed his eyes for a moment and turned his head outside the window.
It’s gonna be a lonnnnng flight, the baseball player thought with a wry smile.
…
A vision materialized in his mind this evening, and both Tsuna and Mukuro weren’t so much surprised as pissed off. “No need to be so hostile, you two,” The albino grinned happily, something that was never a good sign. “I’ve only come to say hello again. I won’t make my move until you’re feeling more positive, Tsunayoshi-kun. I know how to strike when your spirits are up. It’s the best time.”
He glared, but didn’t rise to his quip. The lavender-eyed man continued to talk to virtually himself, but both of his listeners waited for his departure. “Of course, it’ll be when your little followers are exhausted, too. You may be strong, but not strong enough to take all of us.” His voice became dangerously low, and his eyes opened to narrow slits. “I hope you’re prepared.”
“Whenever you are,” The brunette quipped, sounding equally as dangerous. His eyes glinted a burnt amber, focused on the man who had almost destroyed the future for all of them, and now he was trying for the present.
He chuckled as he dissipated, and Mukuro’s chuckle shortly followed it.
“I despise that man,” He murmured amusedly. “He waltzes in like it’s the convenience store.”
He received no more response than the other teenager’s clenched fists and deep eyes staring at where Byakuran had just been. Although he said nothing, he thought, You may be powerful…but you’re in for a surprise, Byakuran.
Tsuna let his dark brown eyes fall closed with a little half-smile, letting his mind fall into more peaceful thoughts than that. Thinking about the focused seafoam green eyes of a certain someone, and their hair blowing in the gust created by the bombs crossed his mind, and the illusionist privy to the sights made a noise of disgust before laughing at him and stepping out from that dream.
Once their link was partially severed enough to not talk to each other or see each other within that world, Mukuro thought to himself, Although I simply cannot stand that Vongola…this is an especially cruel thing to do to yourself, Sawada Tsunayoshi. To deprive yourself of something you know you can have-I underestimated you once again.
After that, he decided to let himself fall into the realm of dreams, the cold water of the tank pushing his hair around in his sleep.
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