[fic] The Forgotten Time chapter 19
Title: The Forgotten Time
Author: Metamorcy1 or Metamorcy on ff.net (me)
Pairing: Main is R27 RebornxTsuna there is Arcobaleno27, X27 and others
Summary: An incident with the 10-year bazooka leaves Tsuna stuck in the past... What's he gonna to do?
Rating: R/NC17
Warning: Two chapters of adult-content but the rest are PG13
This has been beta'd by AmbiguousThoughts.
A little equation for all those out there: reviews = motivation = updates
"No man is happy without a delusion of some kind. Delusions are as necessary to our happiness as realities." Christian Nestell Bovee
Chapter 19: Establish
"Tsunayoshi! Wake up!" The green-haired scientist yelled, shaking the other viciously. "Come on!"
Shifting a little in bed, Tsuna turned towards the arcobaleno, honey-colored eyes opening and gazing at the other curiously. "Verde? What?"
"They're here. Reborn is here."
"What's the situation, Verde?" Tsuna immediately demanded the moment he entered the computer room, his eyes moving straight to the little arcobaleno in the middle of the room.
The green-haired baby didn't look back, keeping his eyes on the computer screen, with his fingers rapidly tapping the keys, almost looking like a blur to the brunet's point of view. Figures were appearing on the screen rapidly, rushing through one camera's view and into another. Many of the cameras had already been shot down but there were a couple that had been missed. Those ones were only spared by the group's destruction because Verde had purposefully hid them directly into the wall. Tsuna watched everyone though the screens, his friends, Reborn… He took a deep breath to calm his mind at thought of everyone coming for him. Currently, his so called 'rescue group' was outside, trying to find a way into the base, checking the trees and the grass below them for any sign of entry.
Verde nudged his glasses up further onto his face, momentarily stopping his typing. "They're still trying to find a way in. They won't be able to come into this area just yet, they'll have to go to the front. That's the only opening they'll be able to get into."
Tsuna settled into a chair he had pulled up earlier, holding onto two cups of tea he had brought in with him. He handed one of them over to the arcobaleno and placed the other to the side. "Won't they be suspicious about that?"
"Perhaps, but even if they thought so, they would still try to get in through there. They have no choice. Not unless they want to try and spend hours figuring out another way in." Verde slowly sipped on his drink, the steam fogging up his glasses. "Reborn and the others are desperate. They'll take any chance they can get to get you back as safely as possible. The shorter the time you're with me, the better the chances they think you'll have, even if it means putting themselves in danger."
"Guys…," Tsuna whispered under his breath, guilt overriding his senses.
Verde peered at the brunet carefully and then sighed, holding his tea in front of him. "Don't worry too much. If anything happens, I'll help you out."
A smile made its way to Tsuna's lips. "Thanks."
As soon as that happened, Verde suddenly went back to the computer again, clicking on the keys to make some changes. "Looks like they managed to get in." As he spoke, a smirk appeared on his lips and there was a mischievous glint in his eyes that reflected off the computer screens. Tsuna raised an eyebrow at that, curious on what Verde was thinking at the moment. While that happened, the group entered a large hallway of the building, glancing around the three-way section that was presented before them. "Now I'm not going to make things easy for you."
Tsuna glared when he heard those words. "Verde…"
"Don't worry, none of my traps are life threatening. They all should be dodgeable. Only a few are capable of causing some damage but it's nothing more than a broken bone or two. No one should die. And anyway, who can really stop Reborn when he's on a rampage?"
"That I can agree on."
"This is very odd…," Fong stated out loud, observing his surroundings with a calm attitude, despite what was going on. He had his hands at his sides, peering back and forth down the multiple corridors. They had met very little resistance except for multiple traps that would pop up at any given moment. A couple people got injured from them, mainly broken bones, but not one of them was life-threatening. A few had been aimed at him, but he dodged each and every single one of them with ease, and only two had been close in getting him. "There's no one around. I can't feel a presence in this place at all."
"Is it a trap?" Gokudera opened another door, peeking inside carefully with his dynamite out, ready to use it at any moment's notice. He blew a piece of hair that had fallen into his eyes out of the way, but saw nothing, and only then stepping out into the open. Yamamoto was next to him, acting as backup with his sword out.
"We've already been in a trap from the moment we walked into this place." Lal Mirch grumbled under her breath, holding her shotgun up against her body. Colonello was beside her, eyes narrowed, and Reborn on his left.
"Still, we really don't have much of a choice." Iemitsu kept himself against a wall, peering down a corridor that was at the end. But just as Fong had stated, the whole place was empty, not a person in sight. The tension around them was getting worse, everyone fearful of what could happen next.
Reborn growled, dashing forward to check the next area. He wanted to shoot something but all he was getting was machinery, devices that moved into his view and weapons that appeared out of the walls to shoot at him. The rest of the group followed right behind him until they came up to a large set of doors. The CEDEF group went in first, checking the area before spreading out into the large room. There was nothing inside, just a large spacious area.
"I was wondering when you would show up."
Everyone immediately tensed at those words, searching around for the speaker, but found nothing. Everything was blended together. It was like those white walls were making fun of them. There was a chuckle and a screen flickered onto a wall on the other side of the room, showing a clear image of Verde settled in his chair. His half-lidded eyes scanned the audience without care, hands in his pocket. Reborn ran forward to separate himself from the group and scowled, pushing his fedora upward. Behind him, a few people called out Verde's name in surprise, ripping out their weapons from wherever they were.
"Verde, where's Tsuna?" Reborn sneered, hate and venom dripping off his voice. He held Leon up beside his head, his eyes narrowed dangerously.
Verde paid no attention to the threat, looking quite relaxed, and chuckled again. "He's here. But don't worry, I haven't harmed him yet." He glanced beside him to make his point but it was off screen. His eyes turned straight back to the hitman and leaned closer. "But Reborn, have you remembered anything from that time long ago? If you say something now, I'll let Tsuna go, no harm done."
People's eyes immediately went to Reborn's small figure, trying to understand what was going on. Some didn't comprehend what Verde had meant, while others, who had read the message, were hoping that maybe Reborn knew.
Iemitsu stepped forward, holding a gun in his hand. "My son! You haven't hurt my son, have you?"
"I just said that he's fine." Verde's eyes narrowed. "And I wasn't talking to you. I have no interest in talking to a useless buffoon." There was a small outcry from his harsh comment but it went ignored.
Reborn growled. "Verde, stop these mind games and tell me what the hell you what."
"Can't do that. Then where would all the fun go? Plus, this is more for your own benefit then mine, but either way, it helps me regardless." Verde pushed up his glasses, his lips twitching into a smirk. "When you finally remember, perhaps you'll decide to say thank you. I wonder if you can actually do something as simple as that."
The hitman had a growl, trying to glare a hole into Verde's smug face. Oh, he so badly wanted to blast a few bullets into the lightning Arcobaleno's body.
Gokudera suddenly came running up, catching the two Arcobalenos' attention. His green eyes peered at the screen, holding a stick of dynamite in one hand with the rest pocketed away. "Hey! What about Juudaime! How do we know you haven't harmed him? If I find out that even a piece of hair is missing, I'll kill you!"
"Hayato!" Yamamoto came behind, holding the silver-haired teen back from blowing up the screen in rage. Fong, from the side, sighed at the reaction, having seen this coming, and walked forward a bit, coming up next to Reborn to get a better look at the screen. He blinked for a moment when he saw some movement next to the green-haired baby. Was there really someone else there?
His suspicion was confirmed when Verde glanced over towards that direction again. Looking quite bored, the green-haired scientist twisted his seat, turning away from the group, and picked up a cup. He sipped on the smooth liquid for a few seconds, savoring the taste, and then spoke. "Tsunayoshi, you might want to do something about your storm guardian…"
"I can't believe I'm actually hearing that from you, Verde."
"Well, I'm offering advice."
"I think that's the surprising part. When have you ever really given advice on anything?"
Yamamoto dropped his grip on Gokudera and blinked. He was the first one to recover from hearing that familiar voice. "Tsuna? Is that you, Tsuna?"
There was a little bit of movement on the other side of the video as Verde turned back to the screen. They couldn't see anything in the darkness that surrounded him but they could still hear quite well. "Yeah, it's me. I'm beside Verde. But don't worry about me, I haven't been harmed at all. I've actually been treated pretty well considering my situation."
Verde decided to cut in at that. "So would you like me to treat you badly? That can be arranged."
"Don't you dare…"
Despite the friendliness that was occurring between the two on screen, there was a collective amount of sighs of relief that flooded the room. No one seemed to notice the tone of voice of the two, even Reborn, all solely concerned on Tsuna. They could tell from the way Tsuna spoke that he was okay. Only Fong noticed the strangeness, only he noticed that the way Tsuna talked to the lightening Arcobaleno in such lightness showed something deeper. But he kept it to himself for now…
Verde pushed his glasses up higher on his nose, peering at the group. "We're still in the building, come and find us." With that, the screen cut off, silence deafening to the group.
Taking another sip of his tea, Verde kept watch of the group as they searched his base, stripping parts to see if there were any hidden passages. It was obvious that they were having a hard time and he couldn't help but make it worse by increasing the number of traps that appeared, doing a little more damage then just a few broken bones. A couple of his traps were destroyed before they were even sprung but he knew his fellow cursed members' abilities and knew just how to surprise them.
"Hey, Verde, I just thought of something." Tsuna spoke from the side, legs folded, holding his own cup of tea. He was staring down at it before peering back up at the other. "You know Xanxus, right?"
"Who doesn't?"
"Well, I think I've just lost some respect for him after some thinking." The brunet slumped downward, sighing, though there was a faint smile on his lips. Verde motioned him to continue. "What does Xanxus' name spell when you take out the X's?"
Unable to stop himself from raising an eyebrow at the strange question, Verde decided to do it anyway. "Well, it spells an-" He paused, staring at Tsuna in confusion then suddenly burst into laughter, almost dropping his cup. Tsuna smiled and settled into his seat, momentarily forgetting about his impending doom. He watched as the scientist continued to laugh, trying to calm himself down, but failed in every attempt. When he finally managed to do so, Verde took a deep breath to fill his depleted lungs. "That poor man. Why hasn't anyone else figured that out?"
"Well, if they have, they're probably either dead or have been silenced. Even I don't plan on saying to it his face unless I want to die." Tsuna sipped on his tea a little before placing the cup back onto the table. "I mean, seriously? I hope no one else has figured it out."
"Like you've stated, if they did, they're probably dead, knowing Xanxus' temper."
"That's true." Tsuna chuckled then turned serious. "So do you think it'll really work? By the way Reborn's acting, he doesn't remember at all."
"Hmmm…," The scientist huffed, folding his arms. His partner was below his feet growling about something before shuffling over to Tsuna's spot, putting his head on top of the brunet's feet, as if using it as a pillow. Blinking in surprise, Tsuna glanced down as Verde continued to think, patting the alligator on the head. The lightening Arcobaleno leaned back against his seat. "It's possible that whatever is keeping him from remembering is much strong on him then the rest of us. He was with you the most. The best next thing is to try and trigger the memories through phases or objects. But that'll be quite hard, there's no telling what would be able to and what wouldn't. The possibilities of it happening are extremely low."
"And saying anything wrong might make things worse."
"That's true as well, Reborn is a suspicious person by nature; he won't trust anything, not even his own memories if he thinks something is wrong with it. I remember telling you long ago that it took a long time to get Reborn to even stay in the same room with the rest of us. I still don't have that weak trust of his in me, unlike the others. I'm the only one," Verde huffed, peering down at his animal partner, and raised an eyebrow at the sight before him. "Do you think Reborn is able to feel fear?"
"Reborn is still human, just like you, regardless of your form. You were human before you got cursed and you're still human now. Emotions are something that is attached to humanity, no matter how dense you are on the subject."
There was a grumble from Verde at those last words. "Well, I don't understand emotions, such useless things."
Tsuna sighed, pinching his nose. "Verde, I know you know that emotions are unpredictable. It's a thing that can change everything. But I hope you'll be able to understand soon." Glancing up at the screen, the sky guardian noticed his friends' positions, watching them pass through, screen by screen. Verde did the same, able to tell that the group was getting closer to their position, to the door that connected the main part of the base to their small section. From the microphones he had attached to the walls, he could hear that the group hadn't really talked to each other since he had appeared, fear of being overheard by the lightning Arcobaleno stopping them. But regardless of the silence between the groups, they were managing to figure out a way around the area.
Reaching forward, Verde tapped a few keys and smirked, zooming onto Reborn's face on a camera. The hitman appeared normal as he observed the hallways but his eyes hidden underneath the fedora looked confused and questioning. Verde's smirk widened. Even if it wasn't a success, he had at least planted the seed into the sun Arcobaleno's mind.
Eventually, Reborn would try to figure things out, wanting to know what was going on. He knew Reborn would do so. The sun Arcobaleno would have no choice but to do so.
His emerald-colored eyes caught sight of the group arriving right outside the main door. "Looks like they're finally here…" As he said that, there was a large bang, the sound resonating throughout the wall's wires and metal. Not wanting the destructive group to blow up anymore of his doors like that and damage anything inside, he pressed the button to open it. Tsuna rose an eyebrow at that but didn't say anything, turning his gaze towards the door behind him. It took a few moments as the group filtered out into the smaller area, checking each place until they came to the one the two was hidden behind. Just as Tsuna put his cup of tea aside, the door opened and the group flooded in as fast as possible. The alligator raised its head up at the intrusion and went back to its master, wrapping around the chair protectively.
All types of weapons were out and ready for action and when they caught sight of Tsuna, sitting there, looking perfectly fine, a few couldn't help but pause. However, that didn't stop Gokudera from calling out his beloved boss and running forward, going straight to Tsuna's side. The brunet stood up and waved, giving a small smile to show that he was unharmed.
"Hey guys." Those words only made suspicion in those grow more, and a few strange looks were thrown his way. A few people surrounded Verde, mainly the Arcobaleno, who just continued to sit in his seat, drinking his tea calmly. There was still steam coming from the top of it and he looked absolutely relaxed, despite the weapons and arsenal that were pointed toward his direction. Tsuna smiled again and waved his hands, reaching over to the closest baby, who was Colonello, and pushed the rifle aside. "You can put your weapons down, guys. He's not going to hurt you. He's not going to do anything."
Reborn was the first to question this. "And why's that? He kidnapped you if you don't remember. He put you in danger."
The sky guardian blinked at that. Was Reborn angry? He was even yelling.
Verde noticed this as well. "I never had any intention of hurting Tsunayoshi from the very beginning. My one and only target was you, Reborn. I thought the hints I gave to you were quite clear."
"Me? What do you want with me? You could have just attacked me like normal. Why go through the most roundabout way?"
Verde laughed. "Now, where's the fun in telling you right now? But I got what I wanted to for the most part. Now, I just have to watch it sprout." He went back to drinking his tea, taking another long sip. "I have to say, Tsunayoshi, you know how to make tea."
"Wait? What's going on? I'm extremely confused. Sawada wasn't in any extreme danger?" Ryohei scratched the back of his head with those bandaged hands. Apparently, he wasn't the only one that was having trouble processing the scene before them. Even Reborn could tell that the way the two were having a conversation on such friendly terms. However, Fong seemed to notice something a little deeper, something that was hidden deep underneath all those words. But he couldn't pinpoint it.
"I agree with Sempai, what's going on Tsuna?" Yamamoto tilted his head, blinking his eyes. "I mean, you were kidnapped right before our eyes."
Verde sighed, noticing the guilty look on Tsuna's face, and then rolled his eyes. He jumped off his seat, ignoring the movement of the weapons that were following him, and settled next to Tsuna's side, jabbing a finger into the brunet. "I made a deal with him. And he fulfilled his part. End of story. The kidnapping was just a part I needed to happen."
Reborn narrowed his eyes but Iemitsu was the one who beat everyone to the question that was all on everyone's minds. "Deal? What sort of deal?"
"That's I'd work for Tsunayoshi only. I'd be a part of his team. That does not mean I'm part of Vongola though." Verde finished, drinking the last bit of his tea and was about to place the cup aside. However, he had a slight problem as he couldn't reach that high up. Tsuna leaned over to grab the cup, doing the work himself, while Verde nodded his head as thanks. "I agreed to his terms."
"And what about us? What did we have in all this?"
Grinning at the question, Verde chuckled. "That's for me to know."
Right as that was spoken, to prevent people from attacking and demanding answers from the lightning Arcobaleno, Tsuna stepped forward. "I'm really sorry, guys. I went along with the idea because I saw a good opportunity and didn't want it to slip by. I didn't see him lying either, so I went for it." Tsuna was lying through his teeth. When had he become so good at it? He would never figure it out. He just started saying the words without stop, unable to control himself from doing so, and they sounded real. Like they weren't lies at all. "I know there will be consequences for my action."
"Oh, there's a consequence alright." The sun Arcobaleno's voice was filled with promises of harsh training and there was a lot of venom. Tsuna paled slightly at that but managed to remain calm, though, he couldn't hide his swallow of fear. "What would have happened if Verde had hurt you? He could have been after the Vongola rings again."
Tsuna shook his head. "Reborn, you've always been telling me to trust my intuition and I did. This is where it led me to. I knew from the very beginning what he was planning to do and kept quiet about it. I felt like I had to." He paused for a moment and closed his eyes. "Sorry."
Reborn made a 'tch' sound and Leon transformed back into his regular form. With that, everyone else seemed to relax. "Then do you know what Verde is talking about?"
With that, Tsuna smiled sadly, filled with despair and loneness. The whole room could feel it and that single gesture made everyone's heart clench. "I have a clue but it's not for me to tell. Sorry, Reborn. I promised."
"Sorry, Reborn. I promised."
Reborn blinked as some echo occurred within his mind, tilting his fedora downward to hide his expression. 'What…the hell was that? I've felt like…I've heard that before…' Shaking his head, he growled quietly to himself as he stared up at his student and motioned him to follow. "Let's go."
"And Verde?"
"The CEDEF will take care of him."
Tsuna nodded, following his friends out, but not before waving Verde goodbye. Soon after that happened, the scientist activated a switch, allowing him to escape his capturers along with his alligator. There was some noises made from his movements, the base shaking, and the moment Tsuna stepped out the base, it began to crumble with those that were still trapped inside. He stared at the scene, the color in his eyes a little dull, and smiled despite what was occurring.
He could still hear Verde chuckling from within his mind. The green-haired scientist smirking at what he had done.
It had begun.
Thanks for reading, hoped you've enjoyed it.
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Author: Metamorcy1 or Metamorcy on ff.net (me)
Pairing: Main is R27 RebornxTsuna there is Arcobaleno27, X27 and others
Summary: An incident with the 10-year bazooka leaves Tsuna stuck in the past... What's he gonna to do?
Rating: R/NC17
Warning: Two chapters of adult-content but the rest are PG13
This has been beta'd by AmbiguousThoughts.
A little equation for all those out there: reviews = motivation = updates
"No man is happy without a delusion of some kind. Delusions are as necessary to our happiness as realities." Christian Nestell Bovee
Chapter 19: Establish
"Tsunayoshi! Wake up!" The green-haired scientist yelled, shaking the other viciously. "Come on!"
Shifting a little in bed, Tsuna turned towards the arcobaleno, honey-colored eyes opening and gazing at the other curiously. "Verde? What?"
"They're here. Reborn is here."
"What's the situation, Verde?" Tsuna immediately demanded the moment he entered the computer room, his eyes moving straight to the little arcobaleno in the middle of the room.
The green-haired baby didn't look back, keeping his eyes on the computer screen, with his fingers rapidly tapping the keys, almost looking like a blur to the brunet's point of view. Figures were appearing on the screen rapidly, rushing through one camera's view and into another. Many of the cameras had already been shot down but there were a couple that had been missed. Those ones were only spared by the group's destruction because Verde had purposefully hid them directly into the wall. Tsuna watched everyone though the screens, his friends, Reborn… He took a deep breath to calm his mind at thought of everyone coming for him. Currently, his so called 'rescue group' was outside, trying to find a way into the base, checking the trees and the grass below them for any sign of entry.
Verde nudged his glasses up further onto his face, momentarily stopping his typing. "They're still trying to find a way in. They won't be able to come into this area just yet, they'll have to go to the front. That's the only opening they'll be able to get into."
Tsuna settled into a chair he had pulled up earlier, holding onto two cups of tea he had brought in with him. He handed one of them over to the arcobaleno and placed the other to the side. "Won't they be suspicious about that?"
"Perhaps, but even if they thought so, they would still try to get in through there. They have no choice. Not unless they want to try and spend hours figuring out another way in." Verde slowly sipped on his drink, the steam fogging up his glasses. "Reborn and the others are desperate. They'll take any chance they can get to get you back as safely as possible. The shorter the time you're with me, the better the chances they think you'll have, even if it means putting themselves in danger."
"Guys…," Tsuna whispered under his breath, guilt overriding his senses.
Verde peered at the brunet carefully and then sighed, holding his tea in front of him. "Don't worry too much. If anything happens, I'll help you out."
A smile made its way to Tsuna's lips. "Thanks."
As soon as that happened, Verde suddenly went back to the computer again, clicking on the keys to make some changes. "Looks like they managed to get in." As he spoke, a smirk appeared on his lips and there was a mischievous glint in his eyes that reflected off the computer screens. Tsuna raised an eyebrow at that, curious on what Verde was thinking at the moment. While that happened, the group entered a large hallway of the building, glancing around the three-way section that was presented before them. "Now I'm not going to make things easy for you."
Tsuna glared when he heard those words. "Verde…"
"Don't worry, none of my traps are life threatening. They all should be dodgeable. Only a few are capable of causing some damage but it's nothing more than a broken bone or two. No one should die. And anyway, who can really stop Reborn when he's on a rampage?"
"That I can agree on."
"This is very odd…," Fong stated out loud, observing his surroundings with a calm attitude, despite what was going on. He had his hands at his sides, peering back and forth down the multiple corridors. They had met very little resistance except for multiple traps that would pop up at any given moment. A couple people got injured from them, mainly broken bones, but not one of them was life-threatening. A few had been aimed at him, but he dodged each and every single one of them with ease, and only two had been close in getting him. "There's no one around. I can't feel a presence in this place at all."
"Is it a trap?" Gokudera opened another door, peeking inside carefully with his dynamite out, ready to use it at any moment's notice. He blew a piece of hair that had fallen into his eyes out of the way, but saw nothing, and only then stepping out into the open. Yamamoto was next to him, acting as backup with his sword out.
"We've already been in a trap from the moment we walked into this place." Lal Mirch grumbled under her breath, holding her shotgun up against her body. Colonello was beside her, eyes narrowed, and Reborn on his left.
"Still, we really don't have much of a choice." Iemitsu kept himself against a wall, peering down a corridor that was at the end. But just as Fong had stated, the whole place was empty, not a person in sight. The tension around them was getting worse, everyone fearful of what could happen next.
Reborn growled, dashing forward to check the next area. He wanted to shoot something but all he was getting was machinery, devices that moved into his view and weapons that appeared out of the walls to shoot at him. The rest of the group followed right behind him until they came up to a large set of doors. The CEDEF group went in first, checking the area before spreading out into the large room. There was nothing inside, just a large spacious area.
"I was wondering when you would show up."
Everyone immediately tensed at those words, searching around for the speaker, but found nothing. Everything was blended together. It was like those white walls were making fun of them. There was a chuckle and a screen flickered onto a wall on the other side of the room, showing a clear image of Verde settled in his chair. His half-lidded eyes scanned the audience without care, hands in his pocket. Reborn ran forward to separate himself from the group and scowled, pushing his fedora upward. Behind him, a few people called out Verde's name in surprise, ripping out their weapons from wherever they were.
"Verde, where's Tsuna?" Reborn sneered, hate and venom dripping off his voice. He held Leon up beside his head, his eyes narrowed dangerously.
Verde paid no attention to the threat, looking quite relaxed, and chuckled again. "He's here. But don't worry, I haven't harmed him yet." He glanced beside him to make his point but it was off screen. His eyes turned straight back to the hitman and leaned closer. "But Reborn, have you remembered anything from that time long ago? If you say something now, I'll let Tsuna go, no harm done."
People's eyes immediately went to Reborn's small figure, trying to understand what was going on. Some didn't comprehend what Verde had meant, while others, who had read the message, were hoping that maybe Reborn knew.
Iemitsu stepped forward, holding a gun in his hand. "My son! You haven't hurt my son, have you?"
"I just said that he's fine." Verde's eyes narrowed. "And I wasn't talking to you. I have no interest in talking to a useless buffoon." There was a small outcry from his harsh comment but it went ignored.
Reborn growled. "Verde, stop these mind games and tell me what the hell you what."
"Can't do that. Then where would all the fun go? Plus, this is more for your own benefit then mine, but either way, it helps me regardless." Verde pushed up his glasses, his lips twitching into a smirk. "When you finally remember, perhaps you'll decide to say thank you. I wonder if you can actually do something as simple as that."
The hitman had a growl, trying to glare a hole into Verde's smug face. Oh, he so badly wanted to blast a few bullets into the lightning Arcobaleno's body.
Gokudera suddenly came running up, catching the two Arcobalenos' attention. His green eyes peered at the screen, holding a stick of dynamite in one hand with the rest pocketed away. "Hey! What about Juudaime! How do we know you haven't harmed him? If I find out that even a piece of hair is missing, I'll kill you!"
"Hayato!" Yamamoto came behind, holding the silver-haired teen back from blowing up the screen in rage. Fong, from the side, sighed at the reaction, having seen this coming, and walked forward a bit, coming up next to Reborn to get a better look at the screen. He blinked for a moment when he saw some movement next to the green-haired baby. Was there really someone else there?
His suspicion was confirmed when Verde glanced over towards that direction again. Looking quite bored, the green-haired scientist twisted his seat, turning away from the group, and picked up a cup. He sipped on the smooth liquid for a few seconds, savoring the taste, and then spoke. "Tsunayoshi, you might want to do something about your storm guardian…"
"I can't believe I'm actually hearing that from you, Verde."
"Well, I'm offering advice."
"I think that's the surprising part. When have you ever really given advice on anything?"
Yamamoto dropped his grip on Gokudera and blinked. He was the first one to recover from hearing that familiar voice. "Tsuna? Is that you, Tsuna?"
There was a little bit of movement on the other side of the video as Verde turned back to the screen. They couldn't see anything in the darkness that surrounded him but they could still hear quite well. "Yeah, it's me. I'm beside Verde. But don't worry about me, I haven't been harmed at all. I've actually been treated pretty well considering my situation."
Verde decided to cut in at that. "So would you like me to treat you badly? That can be arranged."
"Don't you dare…"
Despite the friendliness that was occurring between the two on screen, there was a collective amount of sighs of relief that flooded the room. No one seemed to notice the tone of voice of the two, even Reborn, all solely concerned on Tsuna. They could tell from the way Tsuna spoke that he was okay. Only Fong noticed the strangeness, only he noticed that the way Tsuna talked to the lightening Arcobaleno in such lightness showed something deeper. But he kept it to himself for now…
Verde pushed his glasses up higher on his nose, peering at the group. "We're still in the building, come and find us." With that, the screen cut off, silence deafening to the group.
Taking another sip of his tea, Verde kept watch of the group as they searched his base, stripping parts to see if there were any hidden passages. It was obvious that they were having a hard time and he couldn't help but make it worse by increasing the number of traps that appeared, doing a little more damage then just a few broken bones. A couple of his traps were destroyed before they were even sprung but he knew his fellow cursed members' abilities and knew just how to surprise them.
"Hey, Verde, I just thought of something." Tsuna spoke from the side, legs folded, holding his own cup of tea. He was staring down at it before peering back up at the other. "You know Xanxus, right?"
"Who doesn't?"
"Well, I think I've just lost some respect for him after some thinking." The brunet slumped downward, sighing, though there was a faint smile on his lips. Verde motioned him to continue. "What does Xanxus' name spell when you take out the X's?"
Unable to stop himself from raising an eyebrow at the strange question, Verde decided to do it anyway. "Well, it spells an-" He paused, staring at Tsuna in confusion then suddenly burst into laughter, almost dropping his cup. Tsuna smiled and settled into his seat, momentarily forgetting about his impending doom. He watched as the scientist continued to laugh, trying to calm himself down, but failed in every attempt. When he finally managed to do so, Verde took a deep breath to fill his depleted lungs. "That poor man. Why hasn't anyone else figured that out?"
"Well, if they have, they're probably either dead or have been silenced. Even I don't plan on saying to it his face unless I want to die." Tsuna sipped on his tea a little before placing the cup back onto the table. "I mean, seriously? I hope no one else has figured it out."
"Like you've stated, if they did, they're probably dead, knowing Xanxus' temper."
"That's true." Tsuna chuckled then turned serious. "So do you think it'll really work? By the way Reborn's acting, he doesn't remember at all."
"Hmmm…," The scientist huffed, folding his arms. His partner was below his feet growling about something before shuffling over to Tsuna's spot, putting his head on top of the brunet's feet, as if using it as a pillow. Blinking in surprise, Tsuna glanced down as Verde continued to think, patting the alligator on the head. The lightening Arcobaleno leaned back against his seat. "It's possible that whatever is keeping him from remembering is much strong on him then the rest of us. He was with you the most. The best next thing is to try and trigger the memories through phases or objects. But that'll be quite hard, there's no telling what would be able to and what wouldn't. The possibilities of it happening are extremely low."
"And saying anything wrong might make things worse."
"That's true as well, Reborn is a suspicious person by nature; he won't trust anything, not even his own memories if he thinks something is wrong with it. I remember telling you long ago that it took a long time to get Reborn to even stay in the same room with the rest of us. I still don't have that weak trust of his in me, unlike the others. I'm the only one," Verde huffed, peering down at his animal partner, and raised an eyebrow at the sight before him. "Do you think Reborn is able to feel fear?"
"Reborn is still human, just like you, regardless of your form. You were human before you got cursed and you're still human now. Emotions are something that is attached to humanity, no matter how dense you are on the subject."
There was a grumble from Verde at those last words. "Well, I don't understand emotions, such useless things."
Tsuna sighed, pinching his nose. "Verde, I know you know that emotions are unpredictable. It's a thing that can change everything. But I hope you'll be able to understand soon." Glancing up at the screen, the sky guardian noticed his friends' positions, watching them pass through, screen by screen. Verde did the same, able to tell that the group was getting closer to their position, to the door that connected the main part of the base to their small section. From the microphones he had attached to the walls, he could hear that the group hadn't really talked to each other since he had appeared, fear of being overheard by the lightning Arcobaleno stopping them. But regardless of the silence between the groups, they were managing to figure out a way around the area.
Reaching forward, Verde tapped a few keys and smirked, zooming onto Reborn's face on a camera. The hitman appeared normal as he observed the hallways but his eyes hidden underneath the fedora looked confused and questioning. Verde's smirk widened. Even if it wasn't a success, he had at least planted the seed into the sun Arcobaleno's mind.
Eventually, Reborn would try to figure things out, wanting to know what was going on. He knew Reborn would do so. The sun Arcobaleno would have no choice but to do so.
His emerald-colored eyes caught sight of the group arriving right outside the main door. "Looks like they're finally here…" As he said that, there was a large bang, the sound resonating throughout the wall's wires and metal. Not wanting the destructive group to blow up anymore of his doors like that and damage anything inside, he pressed the button to open it. Tsuna rose an eyebrow at that but didn't say anything, turning his gaze towards the door behind him. It took a few moments as the group filtered out into the smaller area, checking each place until they came to the one the two was hidden behind. Just as Tsuna put his cup of tea aside, the door opened and the group flooded in as fast as possible. The alligator raised its head up at the intrusion and went back to its master, wrapping around the chair protectively.
All types of weapons were out and ready for action and when they caught sight of Tsuna, sitting there, looking perfectly fine, a few couldn't help but pause. However, that didn't stop Gokudera from calling out his beloved boss and running forward, going straight to Tsuna's side. The brunet stood up and waved, giving a small smile to show that he was unharmed.
"Hey guys." Those words only made suspicion in those grow more, and a few strange looks were thrown his way. A few people surrounded Verde, mainly the Arcobaleno, who just continued to sit in his seat, drinking his tea calmly. There was still steam coming from the top of it and he looked absolutely relaxed, despite the weapons and arsenal that were pointed toward his direction. Tsuna smiled again and waved his hands, reaching over to the closest baby, who was Colonello, and pushed the rifle aside. "You can put your weapons down, guys. He's not going to hurt you. He's not going to do anything."
Reborn was the first to question this. "And why's that? He kidnapped you if you don't remember. He put you in danger."
The sky guardian blinked at that. Was Reborn angry? He was even yelling.
Verde noticed this as well. "I never had any intention of hurting Tsunayoshi from the very beginning. My one and only target was you, Reborn. I thought the hints I gave to you were quite clear."
"Me? What do you want with me? You could have just attacked me like normal. Why go through the most roundabout way?"
Verde laughed. "Now, where's the fun in telling you right now? But I got what I wanted to for the most part. Now, I just have to watch it sprout." He went back to drinking his tea, taking another long sip. "I have to say, Tsunayoshi, you know how to make tea."
"Wait? What's going on? I'm extremely confused. Sawada wasn't in any extreme danger?" Ryohei scratched the back of his head with those bandaged hands. Apparently, he wasn't the only one that was having trouble processing the scene before them. Even Reborn could tell that the way the two were having a conversation on such friendly terms. However, Fong seemed to notice something a little deeper, something that was hidden deep underneath all those words. But he couldn't pinpoint it.
"I agree with Sempai, what's going on Tsuna?" Yamamoto tilted his head, blinking his eyes. "I mean, you were kidnapped right before our eyes."
Verde sighed, noticing the guilty look on Tsuna's face, and then rolled his eyes. He jumped off his seat, ignoring the movement of the weapons that were following him, and settled next to Tsuna's side, jabbing a finger into the brunet. "I made a deal with him. And he fulfilled his part. End of story. The kidnapping was just a part I needed to happen."
Reborn narrowed his eyes but Iemitsu was the one who beat everyone to the question that was all on everyone's minds. "Deal? What sort of deal?"
"That's I'd work for Tsunayoshi only. I'd be a part of his team. That does not mean I'm part of Vongola though." Verde finished, drinking the last bit of his tea and was about to place the cup aside. However, he had a slight problem as he couldn't reach that high up. Tsuna leaned over to grab the cup, doing the work himself, while Verde nodded his head as thanks. "I agreed to his terms."
"And what about us? What did we have in all this?"
Grinning at the question, Verde chuckled. "That's for me to know."
Right as that was spoken, to prevent people from attacking and demanding answers from the lightning Arcobaleno, Tsuna stepped forward. "I'm really sorry, guys. I went along with the idea because I saw a good opportunity and didn't want it to slip by. I didn't see him lying either, so I went for it." Tsuna was lying through his teeth. When had he become so good at it? He would never figure it out. He just started saying the words without stop, unable to control himself from doing so, and they sounded real. Like they weren't lies at all. "I know there will be consequences for my action."
"Oh, there's a consequence alright." The sun Arcobaleno's voice was filled with promises of harsh training and there was a lot of venom. Tsuna paled slightly at that but managed to remain calm, though, he couldn't hide his swallow of fear. "What would have happened if Verde had hurt you? He could have been after the Vongola rings again."
Tsuna shook his head. "Reborn, you've always been telling me to trust my intuition and I did. This is where it led me to. I knew from the very beginning what he was planning to do and kept quiet about it. I felt like I had to." He paused for a moment and closed his eyes. "Sorry."
Reborn made a 'tch' sound and Leon transformed back into his regular form. With that, everyone else seemed to relax. "Then do you know what Verde is talking about?"
With that, Tsuna smiled sadly, filled with despair and loneness. The whole room could feel it and that single gesture made everyone's heart clench. "I have a clue but it's not for me to tell. Sorry, Reborn. I promised."
"Sorry, Reborn. I promised."
Reborn blinked as some echo occurred within his mind, tilting his fedora downward to hide his expression. 'What…the hell was that? I've felt like…I've heard that before…' Shaking his head, he growled quietly to himself as he stared up at his student and motioned him to follow. "Let's go."
"And Verde?"
"The CEDEF will take care of him."
Tsuna nodded, following his friends out, but not before waving Verde goodbye. Soon after that happened, the scientist activated a switch, allowing him to escape his capturers along with his alligator. There was some noises made from his movements, the base shaking, and the moment Tsuna stepped out the base, it began to crumble with those that were still trapped inside. He stared at the scene, the color in his eyes a little dull, and smiled despite what was occurring.
He could still hear Verde chuckling from within his mind. The green-haired scientist smirking at what he had done.
It had begun.
Thanks for reading, hoped you've enjoyed it.
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