[Fic] Windshear [Part 7/?]
It's been 7 days. You know what time it is XD We've been working on scaling back on some of the individual character analyses (see word count, haha) and generally still working on making the whole thing flow.
Windshear Part [7/?]
Authors: kagayachou and the-dw
Characters/Pairings: All the Vongola Guardians, Reborn, and Tsuna. Byakuran/Mukuro, implied Mukuro->Tsuna, eventual Yamamoto/Hibari.
Rating: PG-13
Words: 3355
Summary: The rest of the Guardians found out about Hibari's condition. While Mukuro revealed more than intended, Byakuran could not help but return the favour.
Tsuna stared listlessly at his open palms. Fisted them. Relaxed his fingers again. He would have been pacing the corridor outside of the medical wing if Gokudera wasn't already doing that for him. Granted, he wouldn't have been ranting and swearing beneath his breath the way Gokudera was, but he felt just as confused and frustrated, and far too tired to stay on the move when there was nothing he could do but wait for the doctors to come and explain-
"What the hell is going on, doc?!"
Tsuna looked up.
One of the doctors just appeared and Ryohei now had him by the collar. "Hibari's sick to the extreme - I know that - but sick with what?! Is he okay? Is it curable?"
Tsuna stood immediately, but Reborn had already stepped forward, placing a hand on Ryohei's shoulder, his fedora still shielding his eyes.
"Calm down, Sasagawa Ryohei." The statement was more of a command than a request. Reborn eyed the doctor, a small, mousy man, who looked relatively calm despite the fact that Ryohai literally had him on his toes. The badge on his crumpled white coat read Nakamura Kenichi. Ah, one of Hibari's.
"How long does Hibari Kyouya have, Nakamura-san?"
"...If he's lucky, I'd say two weeks." The doctor tugged at his sleeve, not meeting their eyes. "It's a miracle that Hibari-san was even walking at this stage. One of his lungs had completely shut down, and the other one's already forty percent broken down."
Nakamura, over the years, had grown rather used to the strange quirks of Hibari and the Foundation, but this... the involvement with the Vongola famiglia, and these boys - he remembered when they were kids, when they running around and constantly getting beaten up by Hibari or someone else during their high school years - this really took the cake.
The fact that the gentleman in the fedora seemed to know about Hibari's illness before the rest of the doctors even opened their mouths was unsurprising though. He seemed to have spies everywhere; Nakamura wouldn't have been surprised if the baby that they used to carry around was some trained mafia member too.
And come to think of it, it'd been a shock when that Takesushi boy - a young man in the mafia now, he reminded himself - approached him with regards to Hibari's situation. But Reborn's presence reminded the doctor; goodness, Yamamoto carried that mafia baby around a lot.
And hung out with a half Italian, half Japanese punk who... was staring at the doctor at the moment, wide-eyed, the cigarette that he'd been chewing now on the floor.
"His lungs what?!"
"Are rotting away," Nakamura answered, exhaling heavily like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders. "I don't know the cause or the reason, but his lungs had been breaking down cell by cell, going into a state much like hibernation. They've just become... unworkable." He pulled on the sleeve again. "Simply put, he's slowly being suffocated to death, much like someone with lung cancer."
Gokudera stared at the cigarette on the floor, tobacco on his tongue, and his throat closed up.
"He..." Tsuna bit his lip, not seeing the cigarette, barely noticing why Gokudera froze as he stared at the poor man who had practically ben abducted from Namimori, "Hibari-san doesn't smoke. Or do anything to... Wait," things weren't making sense in his brain, "he doesn't have lung cancer?"
Beside Tsuna, Ryohei nearly growled out loud in impatience, but he knew he needed to hear this. He needed to calm down as Reborn not quite suggested so he could figure out what he could do. But his hands were clenched into tight fists. Hibari's his friend; Reborn noticing something was wrong with Hibari - that was one thing, but Yamamoto noticed as well, and Ryohei himself didn't.
What kind of a friend was he?
Lambo scooted away from the fuming man, biting his lip slightly. Gokudera was no better though, staring at the cigarette on the floor in horrified silence. Against his better judgement, Lambo reached out, past them, and tugged on the bottom of Reborn's sleeve.
"Y- you know what's going on, don't you?"
Reborn didn't turn to look at Lambo, but he saw the reflection of his damnable puppy eyes on the glass door behind the doctor, and let out a long breath. Closing his eyes, Reborn nodded. He shoved his thumbs into his pockets, and then looked up to the ceiling.
"Hibari has something more complicated than lung cancer." With a bitter smirk and eyes as old as death, he turned to face Tsuna. Nakamura said Hibari had two weeks... Did they really just exchanged one life for another, in the end?
He so hated the taste of failure on his tongue.
"It was the Gesso," Reborn said abruptly. "A biological weapon that they had just developed. Approximately five months ago, Hibari was shot in the left lung," out of the corner of his eye, he saw Nakamura nod in confirmation. He waved the man off then. The doctor returned to work, quickly escaping the hallway.
"The bullet was removed and the wound healed, but then, his cells started to break down. That bullet was coated with something - perhaps a virus, infecting all the surrounding cells so they started to die, and it just spread from there."
He took off his hat and ran a hand through his hair. If it was anyone else but Reborn, some might say that he seemed to look almost defeated. "In the future we changed..." Reborn sounded bitter, so bitter. "Tsuna was shot by the same bullet. He didn't last this long, though." A soft chuckle, and he turned to look at the door that hid Hibari - and Yamamoto, who'd refused to leave his side - from their sights.
"That silly Tsuna asked Hibari to kill him."
"But Gamma," Gokudera blurted out, "that world's Gamma said that the Tenth had been gunned down!" His hands clenching at his sides. They had done so damn much to try to change the future, and yet, no- He ground his teeth together, trying to calm down.
"Did you really think that Byakuran would tell the Giglionero the truth?" Reborn countered flatly. "Tsuna was gunned down, in that world. They saw him shot. He just... died a little bit later."
For a moment, not one of the Vongola famiglia seemed to be able to breathe. Tsuna tried to move his mouth, make a sound. He croaked something out, and forced himself onwards, "Iiit- It's because I'm heavily protected now that Hibari-san was targeted instead."
He looked around, at everyone's faces, and swallowed heavily. "We need to find Byakuran then. We need to talk this-"
"Talk?" Ryohei was incredulous, nearly spitting the word out. Lambo quickly retracted his hand, letting go of Reborn to get out of the Sun Guardian's war path. "What was there to talk about?" Ryohei cried, "He shot Hibari!"
Gokudera's had similar sentiments. He wanted so badly to just blow something up, preferably the entirety of the Gesso, but mostly Byakuran. He wanted to hit something, anything, just to erase that image of Hibari, pale as fresh fallen snow, with shiny blobs of blood all over his mouth and hands, silent and unmoving in Yamamoto's arms. Gokudera might be intelligent, but he was a man of action first and foremost; he wanted to do something, so that he could get that hopeless, helpless feeling off his chest.
He took as breath. "The Tenth is right," he said, head down and his silver hair obscuring his eyes. "We can't just charge in, lawn-head, because that bastard's most likely hidden the cure somewhere," if there was a cure at all, a small voice in his head said, and he squashed it immediately. "If we talk to him now, we'll catch him off guard. "
Chrome, who had been leaning against the wall, almost a shadow beside Tsuna, finally lifted her head to voice her thoughts.
"Mukuro-sama once told me, around a year ago, that Byakuran was building a cottage in Rome, for a secret reason, that man had said." Her hands were clenched white around the trident. She hugged her arms to herself. "Mukuro-sama's gone to try to get as much information on that place as he can, now."
Hibari had saved her life, once, and perhaps they were friends, in the sort of way that people like them made friends.
"Reborn-san," she frowned slightly. "Why didn't Hibari-san tell us?" Why didn't he let us help?
Reborn placed his hat back onto his head. "Hibari is stubborn even when he knows that he's dying - he refused to accept, much less ask for help from anyone, believing that he could overcome it by himself." There was no disdain in his tone, only regret. He shook his head, clearing it, and when he spoke again, it was directed at Tsuna, "Get Byakuran's location from Mukuro and arrange a meeting as soon as possible."
"Ah," Tsuna nodded, and looked at Chrome uncomfortably. "You're telling him all this right now, aren't you?"
Chrome nodded.
"Good." But what if Mukuro couldn't find out in time, or endangered himself like last time? That wouldn't do either. Tsuna took a deep breath. "And I'll contact the Gesso. Even if I can't find him in person, they wouldn't keep my looking for him a secret from him. In fact... If I do that, he'd find me himself."
Gokudera worried at the packet of cigarettes in his pocket. "Tenth," he started. "I'll contact them for you, in your name. It's... they're targeting you." He tugged at the ends of his hair, unsure of how to phrase it. "We... don't want you to be put into danger."
Tsuna shook his head. "I don't want anyone else in that position either." He was pointing without looking towards the door Nakamura had exited from, behind which lay his dying Cloud Guardian, and his distraught Rain Guardian. "Not for my sake, Gokudera. Everyone. Not for any reason."
***
Mukuro had to fight to keep from smiling. This was what made him loyal to Sawada Tsunayoshi - not the Vongola, not the Mafia. Just Tsunayoshi-kun. Because here was a type of strength of will and selflessness that he had never encountered before in all the lives that he remembered. He had never before met someone who was so willing to devote his entire life to protecting others, and at the same time have the kindness to forgive his enemies and protect them as well.
It was so incredibly naive of the Vongola Tenth, and if it was anyone else, he would have been dead long ago. But somehow that man had the strength to back that resolve up - strength enough to decimate whole Families and yet he didn't, using it only to protect.
Mukuro couldn't help but adore Tsuna.
Quietly, Chrome gave him a mental nudge and reminded him to hurry. Hibari had two weeks left. How surreal. Mukuro sat up in bed after a moment, and none too soon.
"Mu. Ku. Ro. Kun~"
Byakuran was smiling as he waltzed inside his 'subordinate's' room. There was an airy bounce in his step, like he was high on something again. Something deceptively similar to illegal substances, but more likely just a played-up sugar rush - unless he'd stepped into one of his labs earlier for a spell. The man seemed incredibly pleased with himself, Mukuro noted, perhaps almost to the point of being willing to share?
"How is my Mukuro-kun today?" Byakuran's smile was frozen like it could have just been painted onto his face. "I heard you zoned out a little earlier... Is everything all right?"
"Byakuran-san~" Mukuro sang right back, shoving his unease and slight worry to the very corner of his mind and burying it under fields and fields of bright, happy flowers. Just completely Byakuran's style, in case the man decided to skim his surface thoughts. The smile on Mukuro's face was wide and happy and incredibly didn't look fake.
"Everything is just perfectly fine!" He laughed, flopping backwards to lie on the bed. "I was thinking about you..." He chuckled, reaching forward and hooking a finger around one of Byakuran's many belts, pulling him forward. "You seemed particularly happy today, did something really good happen?"
"Hm?" There was a sly gleam in Byakuran's violet eyes. He tilted his head, eyes staring straight into Mukuro's and right through him as he considered, half-kneeling onto the bed. "That depends on what you consider really good now, doesn't it, Mukuro-kun?"
He seemed to turn his attention away from the topic as he dipped down, brushing a hand through Mukuro's hair and stroking his cheek like a connoisseur inspecting a pretty doll for cracks. "But you look pale." There was far too much concern in his voice, melodramatic. "I do hope you haven't been overextending yourself."
Mukuro ran a too-gentle hand through Byakuran's rough silver hair, tilting his head back and looking at the other man through heavy-lidded lashes. He arched his back slightly, the other hand fisting around Byakuran's sleeve. "Please don't worry about me, Byakuran-san," he said, a coy murmur, and smiling shyly. "You've been working so much lately..."
He leaned forward, dropping his head on Byakuran's shoulder, as if for comfort, and added in a deep breath for good measure; Byakuran always smelt too strongly of flowers, and it nearly made Mukuro gag, but whatever floats his boat... "And your definition is my definition. You know that, Byakuran-san. "
Bright sparkly laughter bubbled from the other man's throat. Byakuran settled down on the edge of the bed, one leg crossing over the other. "Mukuro-kun~" He gently wound the other man's ponytail around his gloved fist. "You know I don't like it when people lie to me... correct?
"Ordering more hits for that reason can be so very depressing."
Despite his words, Byakuran's face remained serene. Mukuro knew he was treading on dangerous territory here; the more sincere and gentle Byakuran became, the more prone he was to simply stabbing someone in the throat. It was a warning, one that very few people received, and even less understood.
Mukuro felt vaguely flattered that Byakuran liked him enough.
"But Byakuran-san~" He mimicked the light tone, mismatched eyes dancing with something more akin to amusement than apprehension. Showing fear in front of Byakuran was like deliberately cutting yourself in shark-infested waters - he'd seen it happen with others; it was suicide.
"You do the same thing yourself, or rather, you omit the truth," Mukuro pouted slightly. "Aren't we always playing hide and go seek? ...Are you hiding something from me this time?"
What are you not might be a better question, Mukuro thought to himself, wry.
Byakuran grinned impishly, pressing a soft kiss to the hair in his grasp. "You know me so well, Mukuro-kun...
"Do you know how many people used to tell me that's it's very dangerous?" He held his gaze for a long moment, unblinking. "What should I do when I start hearing things again?"
Mukuro patted his cheek. He should have known that Byakuran wouldn't answer his questions, and wouldn't let go of his own. Such a child; one with far too much power in his hands.
He smiled like an indulgent mother in response. "Take a vacation, maybe?" He tilted his head to the side. "We can have a Roman holiday, Byakuran-san~"
"Hm?" The corners of Byakuran's lips quirked up at the suggestion. "Mmm," he nuzzled Mukuro's palm as he nodded slowly, "I was thinking of cherry blossom viewing actually." Byakuran offered the man a knowing half-lidded gaze, "It has such a short time frame, don't you think? ...But we can do both." He chuckled.
"You'd like that, wouldn't you?"
***
The next day saw Byakuran lounging on his armchair in a hotel in Rome, his legs hanging over one arm. On the plane last night he had received a call from Sawada Tsunayoshi, requesting a video conference. He had glanced at Mukuro for a moment, and wondered how the Vongola Tenth had known that he was at all involved when he had taken absolute care to let Mukuro know nothing about the real importance of the flowers he bred.
The fingers of one hand tapped on Mukuro's thigh, the other hand picking up an orange wedge and sucking the juice from it. He licked his fingers, the picture of decadence.
He swung his legs almost playfully, tilting his head back to peer at the man beside him.
"Mu. Ku. Ro. Kun~" His voice was light and lilting. "When is the Vongola Tenth going to call back?"
Mukuro, sitting on the arm of the couch, chuckled lightly. "Wait just a little while more, Byakuran-san~ You're as impatient as ever."
Byakuran raised an eyebrow, tugging a little on Mukuro's belt. "Aah, Mukuro-kun, I'm a little bored, that's all..." As if on cue, the screen buzzed softly and flickered to life.
The Vongola Tenth was in his office, dressed smart and proper, with Reborn standing behind his chair on his right...
Before he started the video conference, Tsuna knew that he'd need to wash his eyes out as soon as it ended. Mukuro was draped over Byakuran's chair, leaning into the man like a... trophy. Tsuna's cheeks colored.
"Byakuran-san. Mukuro." He cleared his throat, and shied another glance toward his Mist Guardian, and then looked back at the white haired man, a disturbed but definitely unhappy expression upon his face. Briefly, Tsuna prayed to any listening deity for strength. Then, he opened his mouth again.
"Hibari-san collapsed recently. We've traced it back to a bullet to the lung, a specially coated bullet that came from one of your family's guns. Please tell me you have the cure, and that you're willing to negotiate." He really didn't want to fight the man again, not that Byakuran was aware there was a first time, but there.
That was it.
Mukuro smiled.
As expected, Tsuna was no pushover as the Vongola Tenth. There was strength behind those gentle eyes that looked like heated amber, yet none of its softness showed. A normal man might have just caved from his stare alone.
But Byakuran was not a normal man.
His violet eyes were cold and emotionless, but a smile still curved his lips. He sucked lightly on his finger, licking up the remnants of the orange juice. When he spoke again, he was smiling so widely that his eyes were slits.
"My, my, you want to negotiate for the cure?" He chuckled lightly, "All right then, I'm game."
He tapped his lips, looking contemplative and obscene at the same time, and leaned back against the couch. "I don't want your life in particular. Wouldn't know what to do with it..." He turned to Mukuro, still smiling that wide, empty smile. "Perhaps I should ask for your Mist Guardian instead - he's such a fun playmate for me, you see." He curled a hand around the end of Mukuro's ponytail. "We have such... scintillating conversations."
He tossed his head back, laughing, and Mukuro's answering smile seemed as sincere as the one on his face when Tsuna first met him.
Byakuran shook his head, turning back to face Sawada through the monitor again. "Or maybe I'll ask for the shiny trinket on your middle finger, Vongola Tenth. And the pretty pendant that your tutor" - he made the word sound as vulgar as 'whore' - "has around his neck."
"There are many, many pretty things from your collection that I find negotiable, Vongola Tenth."
When Tsuna didn't say anything for a long moment, Byakuran tilted his head to the side, then lowered his voice as if to confide. "Video conferences... take away some of the... hmm..." He waved a hand in the hair, as if searching for the perfect words, "personal connection from face-to-face conversations, don't they? So bland, so empty!" He leaned forward, until he was almost nose-to-nose to Vongola in the video.
"So why don't you all take a Roman holiday?"
Back: Part 6
Next: Part 8
Windshear Part [7/?]
Authors: kagayachou and the-dw
Characters/Pairings: All the Vongola Guardians, Reborn, and Tsuna. Byakuran/Mukuro, implied Mukuro->Tsuna, eventual Yamamoto/Hibari.
Rating: PG-13
Words: 3355
Summary: The rest of the Guardians found out about Hibari's condition. While Mukuro revealed more than intended, Byakuran could not help but return the favour.
Tsuna stared listlessly at his open palms. Fisted them. Relaxed his fingers again. He would have been pacing the corridor outside of the medical wing if Gokudera wasn't already doing that for him. Granted, he wouldn't have been ranting and swearing beneath his breath the way Gokudera was, but he felt just as confused and frustrated, and far too tired to stay on the move when there was nothing he could do but wait for the doctors to come and explain-
"What the hell is going on, doc?!"
Tsuna looked up.
One of the doctors just appeared and Ryohei now had him by the collar. "Hibari's sick to the extreme - I know that - but sick with what?! Is he okay? Is it curable?"
Tsuna stood immediately, but Reborn had already stepped forward, placing a hand on Ryohei's shoulder, his fedora still shielding his eyes.
"Calm down, Sasagawa Ryohei." The statement was more of a command than a request. Reborn eyed the doctor, a small, mousy man, who looked relatively calm despite the fact that Ryohai literally had him on his toes. The badge on his crumpled white coat read Nakamura Kenichi. Ah, one of Hibari's.
"How long does Hibari Kyouya have, Nakamura-san?"
"...If he's lucky, I'd say two weeks." The doctor tugged at his sleeve, not meeting their eyes. "It's a miracle that Hibari-san was even walking at this stage. One of his lungs had completely shut down, and the other one's already forty percent broken down."
Nakamura, over the years, had grown rather used to the strange quirks of Hibari and the Foundation, but this... the involvement with the Vongola famiglia, and these boys - he remembered when they were kids, when they running around and constantly getting beaten up by Hibari or someone else during their high school years - this really took the cake.
The fact that the gentleman in the fedora seemed to know about Hibari's illness before the rest of the doctors even opened their mouths was unsurprising though. He seemed to have spies everywhere; Nakamura wouldn't have been surprised if the baby that they used to carry around was some trained mafia member too.
And come to think of it, it'd been a shock when that Takesushi boy - a young man in the mafia now, he reminded himself - approached him with regards to Hibari's situation. But Reborn's presence reminded the doctor; goodness, Yamamoto carried that mafia baby around a lot.
And hung out with a half Italian, half Japanese punk who... was staring at the doctor at the moment, wide-eyed, the cigarette that he'd been chewing now on the floor.
"His lungs what?!"
"Are rotting away," Nakamura answered, exhaling heavily like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders. "I don't know the cause or the reason, but his lungs had been breaking down cell by cell, going into a state much like hibernation. They've just become... unworkable." He pulled on the sleeve again. "Simply put, he's slowly being suffocated to death, much like someone with lung cancer."
Gokudera stared at the cigarette on the floor, tobacco on his tongue, and his throat closed up.
"He..." Tsuna bit his lip, not seeing the cigarette, barely noticing why Gokudera froze as he stared at the poor man who had practically ben abducted from Namimori, "Hibari-san doesn't smoke. Or do anything to... Wait," things weren't making sense in his brain, "he doesn't have lung cancer?"
Beside Tsuna, Ryohei nearly growled out loud in impatience, but he knew he needed to hear this. He needed to calm down as Reborn not quite suggested so he could figure out what he could do. But his hands were clenched into tight fists. Hibari's his friend; Reborn noticing something was wrong with Hibari - that was one thing, but Yamamoto noticed as well, and Ryohei himself didn't.
What kind of a friend was he?
Lambo scooted away from the fuming man, biting his lip slightly. Gokudera was no better though, staring at the cigarette on the floor in horrified silence. Against his better judgement, Lambo reached out, past them, and tugged on the bottom of Reborn's sleeve.
"Y- you know what's going on, don't you?"
Reborn didn't turn to look at Lambo, but he saw the reflection of his damnable puppy eyes on the glass door behind the doctor, and let out a long breath. Closing his eyes, Reborn nodded. He shoved his thumbs into his pockets, and then looked up to the ceiling.
"Hibari has something more complicated than lung cancer." With a bitter smirk and eyes as old as death, he turned to face Tsuna. Nakamura said Hibari had two weeks... Did they really just exchanged one life for another, in the end?
He so hated the taste of failure on his tongue.
"It was the Gesso," Reborn said abruptly. "A biological weapon that they had just developed. Approximately five months ago, Hibari was shot in the left lung," out of the corner of his eye, he saw Nakamura nod in confirmation. He waved the man off then. The doctor returned to work, quickly escaping the hallway.
"The bullet was removed and the wound healed, but then, his cells started to break down. That bullet was coated with something - perhaps a virus, infecting all the surrounding cells so they started to die, and it just spread from there."
He took off his hat and ran a hand through his hair. If it was anyone else but Reborn, some might say that he seemed to look almost defeated. "In the future we changed..." Reborn sounded bitter, so bitter. "Tsuna was shot by the same bullet. He didn't last this long, though." A soft chuckle, and he turned to look at the door that hid Hibari - and Yamamoto, who'd refused to leave his side - from their sights.
"That silly Tsuna asked Hibari to kill him."
"But Gamma," Gokudera blurted out, "that world's Gamma said that the Tenth had been gunned down!" His hands clenching at his sides. They had done so damn much to try to change the future, and yet, no- He ground his teeth together, trying to calm down.
"Did you really think that Byakuran would tell the Giglionero the truth?" Reborn countered flatly. "Tsuna was gunned down, in that world. They saw him shot. He just... died a little bit later."
For a moment, not one of the Vongola famiglia seemed to be able to breathe. Tsuna tried to move his mouth, make a sound. He croaked something out, and forced himself onwards, "Iiit- It's because I'm heavily protected now that Hibari-san was targeted instead."
He looked around, at everyone's faces, and swallowed heavily. "We need to find Byakuran then. We need to talk this-"
"Talk?" Ryohei was incredulous, nearly spitting the word out. Lambo quickly retracted his hand, letting go of Reborn to get out of the Sun Guardian's war path. "What was there to talk about?" Ryohei cried, "He shot Hibari!"
Gokudera's had similar sentiments. He wanted so badly to just blow something up, preferably the entirety of the Gesso, but mostly Byakuran. He wanted to hit something, anything, just to erase that image of Hibari, pale as fresh fallen snow, with shiny blobs of blood all over his mouth and hands, silent and unmoving in Yamamoto's arms. Gokudera might be intelligent, but he was a man of action first and foremost; he wanted to do something, so that he could get that hopeless, helpless feeling off his chest.
He took as breath. "The Tenth is right," he said, head down and his silver hair obscuring his eyes. "We can't just charge in, lawn-head, because that bastard's most likely hidden the cure somewhere," if there was a cure at all, a small voice in his head said, and he squashed it immediately. "If we talk to him now, we'll catch him off guard. "
Chrome, who had been leaning against the wall, almost a shadow beside Tsuna, finally lifted her head to voice her thoughts.
"Mukuro-sama once told me, around a year ago, that Byakuran was building a cottage in Rome, for a secret reason, that man had said." Her hands were clenched white around the trident. She hugged her arms to herself. "Mukuro-sama's gone to try to get as much information on that place as he can, now."
Hibari had saved her life, once, and perhaps they were friends, in the sort of way that people like them made friends.
"Reborn-san," she frowned slightly. "Why didn't Hibari-san tell us?" Why didn't he let us help?
Reborn placed his hat back onto his head. "Hibari is stubborn even when he knows that he's dying - he refused to accept, much less ask for help from anyone, believing that he could overcome it by himself." There was no disdain in his tone, only regret. He shook his head, clearing it, and when he spoke again, it was directed at Tsuna, "Get Byakuran's location from Mukuro and arrange a meeting as soon as possible."
"Ah," Tsuna nodded, and looked at Chrome uncomfortably. "You're telling him all this right now, aren't you?"
Chrome nodded.
"Good." But what if Mukuro couldn't find out in time, or endangered himself like last time? That wouldn't do either. Tsuna took a deep breath. "And I'll contact the Gesso. Even if I can't find him in person, they wouldn't keep my looking for him a secret from him. In fact... If I do that, he'd find me himself."
Gokudera worried at the packet of cigarettes in his pocket. "Tenth," he started. "I'll contact them for you, in your name. It's... they're targeting you." He tugged at the ends of his hair, unsure of how to phrase it. "We... don't want you to be put into danger."
Tsuna shook his head. "I don't want anyone else in that position either." He was pointing without looking towards the door Nakamura had exited from, behind which lay his dying Cloud Guardian, and his distraught Rain Guardian. "Not for my sake, Gokudera. Everyone. Not for any reason."
***
Mukuro had to fight to keep from smiling. This was what made him loyal to Sawada Tsunayoshi - not the Vongola, not the Mafia. Just Tsunayoshi-kun. Because here was a type of strength of will and selflessness that he had never encountered before in all the lives that he remembered. He had never before met someone who was so willing to devote his entire life to protecting others, and at the same time have the kindness to forgive his enemies and protect them as well.
It was so incredibly naive of the Vongola Tenth, and if it was anyone else, he would have been dead long ago. But somehow that man had the strength to back that resolve up - strength enough to decimate whole Families and yet he didn't, using it only to protect.
Mukuro couldn't help but adore Tsuna.
Quietly, Chrome gave him a mental nudge and reminded him to hurry. Hibari had two weeks left. How surreal. Mukuro sat up in bed after a moment, and none too soon.
"Mu. Ku. Ro. Kun~"
Byakuran was smiling as he waltzed inside his 'subordinate's' room. There was an airy bounce in his step, like he was high on something again. Something deceptively similar to illegal substances, but more likely just a played-up sugar rush - unless he'd stepped into one of his labs earlier for a spell. The man seemed incredibly pleased with himself, Mukuro noted, perhaps almost to the point of being willing to share?
"How is my Mukuro-kun today?" Byakuran's smile was frozen like it could have just been painted onto his face. "I heard you zoned out a little earlier... Is everything all right?"
"Byakuran-san~" Mukuro sang right back, shoving his unease and slight worry to the very corner of his mind and burying it under fields and fields of bright, happy flowers. Just completely Byakuran's style, in case the man decided to skim his surface thoughts. The smile on Mukuro's face was wide and happy and incredibly didn't look fake.
"Everything is just perfectly fine!" He laughed, flopping backwards to lie on the bed. "I was thinking about you..." He chuckled, reaching forward and hooking a finger around one of Byakuran's many belts, pulling him forward. "You seemed particularly happy today, did something really good happen?"
"Hm?" There was a sly gleam in Byakuran's violet eyes. He tilted his head, eyes staring straight into Mukuro's and right through him as he considered, half-kneeling onto the bed. "That depends on what you consider really good now, doesn't it, Mukuro-kun?"
He seemed to turn his attention away from the topic as he dipped down, brushing a hand through Mukuro's hair and stroking his cheek like a connoisseur inspecting a pretty doll for cracks. "But you look pale." There was far too much concern in his voice, melodramatic. "I do hope you haven't been overextending yourself."
Mukuro ran a too-gentle hand through Byakuran's rough silver hair, tilting his head back and looking at the other man through heavy-lidded lashes. He arched his back slightly, the other hand fisting around Byakuran's sleeve. "Please don't worry about me, Byakuran-san," he said, a coy murmur, and smiling shyly. "You've been working so much lately..."
He leaned forward, dropping his head on Byakuran's shoulder, as if for comfort, and added in a deep breath for good measure; Byakuran always smelt too strongly of flowers, and it nearly made Mukuro gag, but whatever floats his boat... "And your definition is my definition. You know that, Byakuran-san. "
Bright sparkly laughter bubbled from the other man's throat. Byakuran settled down on the edge of the bed, one leg crossing over the other. "Mukuro-kun~" He gently wound the other man's ponytail around his gloved fist. "You know I don't like it when people lie to me... correct?
"Ordering more hits for that reason can be so very depressing."
Despite his words, Byakuran's face remained serene. Mukuro knew he was treading on dangerous territory here; the more sincere and gentle Byakuran became, the more prone he was to simply stabbing someone in the throat. It was a warning, one that very few people received, and even less understood.
Mukuro felt vaguely flattered that Byakuran liked him enough.
"But Byakuran-san~" He mimicked the light tone, mismatched eyes dancing with something more akin to amusement than apprehension. Showing fear in front of Byakuran was like deliberately cutting yourself in shark-infested waters - he'd seen it happen with others; it was suicide.
"You do the same thing yourself, or rather, you omit the truth," Mukuro pouted slightly. "Aren't we always playing hide and go seek? ...Are you hiding something from me this time?"
What are you not might be a better question, Mukuro thought to himself, wry.
Byakuran grinned impishly, pressing a soft kiss to the hair in his grasp. "You know me so well, Mukuro-kun...
"Do you know how many people used to tell me that's it's very dangerous?" He held his gaze for a long moment, unblinking. "What should I do when I start hearing things again?"
Mukuro patted his cheek. He should have known that Byakuran wouldn't answer his questions, and wouldn't let go of his own. Such a child; one with far too much power in his hands.
He smiled like an indulgent mother in response. "Take a vacation, maybe?" He tilted his head to the side. "We can have a Roman holiday, Byakuran-san~"
"Hm?" The corners of Byakuran's lips quirked up at the suggestion. "Mmm," he nuzzled Mukuro's palm as he nodded slowly, "I was thinking of cherry blossom viewing actually." Byakuran offered the man a knowing half-lidded gaze, "It has such a short time frame, don't you think? ...But we can do both." He chuckled.
"You'd like that, wouldn't you?"
***
The next day saw Byakuran lounging on his armchair in a hotel in Rome, his legs hanging over one arm. On the plane last night he had received a call from Sawada Tsunayoshi, requesting a video conference. He had glanced at Mukuro for a moment, and wondered how the Vongola Tenth had known that he was at all involved when he had taken absolute care to let Mukuro know nothing about the real importance of the flowers he bred.
The fingers of one hand tapped on Mukuro's thigh, the other hand picking up an orange wedge and sucking the juice from it. He licked his fingers, the picture of decadence.
He swung his legs almost playfully, tilting his head back to peer at the man beside him.
"Mu. Ku. Ro. Kun~" His voice was light and lilting. "When is the Vongola Tenth going to call back?"
Mukuro, sitting on the arm of the couch, chuckled lightly. "Wait just a little while more, Byakuran-san~ You're as impatient as ever."
Byakuran raised an eyebrow, tugging a little on Mukuro's belt. "Aah, Mukuro-kun, I'm a little bored, that's all..." As if on cue, the screen buzzed softly and flickered to life.
The Vongola Tenth was in his office, dressed smart and proper, with Reborn standing behind his chair on his right...
Before he started the video conference, Tsuna knew that he'd need to wash his eyes out as soon as it ended. Mukuro was draped over Byakuran's chair, leaning into the man like a... trophy. Tsuna's cheeks colored.
"Byakuran-san. Mukuro." He cleared his throat, and shied another glance toward his Mist Guardian, and then looked back at the white haired man, a disturbed but definitely unhappy expression upon his face. Briefly, Tsuna prayed to any listening deity for strength. Then, he opened his mouth again.
"Hibari-san collapsed recently. We've traced it back to a bullet to the lung, a specially coated bullet that came from one of your family's guns. Please tell me you have the cure, and that you're willing to negotiate." He really didn't want to fight the man again, not that Byakuran was aware there was a first time, but there.
That was it.
Mukuro smiled.
As expected, Tsuna was no pushover as the Vongola Tenth. There was strength behind those gentle eyes that looked like heated amber, yet none of its softness showed. A normal man might have just caved from his stare alone.
But Byakuran was not a normal man.
His violet eyes were cold and emotionless, but a smile still curved his lips. He sucked lightly on his finger, licking up the remnants of the orange juice. When he spoke again, he was smiling so widely that his eyes were slits.
"My, my, you want to negotiate for the cure?" He chuckled lightly, "All right then, I'm game."
He tapped his lips, looking contemplative and obscene at the same time, and leaned back against the couch. "I don't want your life in particular. Wouldn't know what to do with it..." He turned to Mukuro, still smiling that wide, empty smile. "Perhaps I should ask for your Mist Guardian instead - he's such a fun playmate for me, you see." He curled a hand around the end of Mukuro's ponytail. "We have such... scintillating conversations."
He tossed his head back, laughing, and Mukuro's answering smile seemed as sincere as the one on his face when Tsuna first met him.
Byakuran shook his head, turning back to face Sawada through the monitor again. "Or maybe I'll ask for the shiny trinket on your middle finger, Vongola Tenth. And the pretty pendant that your tutor" - he made the word sound as vulgar as 'whore' - "has around his neck."
"There are many, many pretty things from your collection that I find negotiable, Vongola Tenth."
When Tsuna didn't say anything for a long moment, Byakuran tilted his head to the side, then lowered his voice as if to confide. "Video conferences... take away some of the... hmm..." He waved a hand in the hair, as if searching for the perfect words, "personal connection from face-to-face conversations, don't they? So bland, so empty!" He leaned forward, until he was almost nose-to-nose to Vongola in the video.
"So why don't you all take a Roman holiday?"
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Next: Part 8