A/N (6/7/12) : Hullo! OMG, sorry for updating so late, I was struggling with this onslaught of homework ._. I hate homework, really. Do you? :p To make up for it, I wrote this looong chappie that was like, 2,265 words long! :D But in the process, I think I might've made this a tad boring but, bear with me! :)
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Day 2
Reborn was fidgeting. Yes, that's right, fidgeting. He was a tad bit afraid of the feedback he might, no, he was sure to receive. The people he was about to call were in their own unique ways protective of Tsuna. Despite that, he'd no choice. Tsuna was in trouble and he needed their help. He took a deep breath and dialed...
'Dino, we have a problem. Tsuna, he ...'
'Enma, we have a problem. Tsuna ...'
'Timoteo, we have a problem ...'
'Iemitsu, we have a...'
'Xanxus, we have ...'
'Byakuran, we ...'
'Aria ...'
Beep... Beep... Beep...
The eerie sound of the life support machinery filled the silent corridors. The hospital was fairly deserted save for the Guardians and the guards of Vongola Decimo. They were obviously taking no chances. Tsuna's safety was the first priority.
Decimo's Guardians sat by him. Hayato was standing by his door, blaming himself for everything - as usual - as he hit his head repeatedly on the wall leaving a visible crack. Takeshi was sitting rather languidly on a sofa. A fake smile plastered on his face. It was all he could do to ease the palpable tension in the room. By the gods, even Ryohei, the hyperactive one was unnaturally mellow. He sat, quiet. Not one word uttered since the incident.
Chrome and Mukuro were instructed by Reborn to escort the oblivious girls along with Lambo back to the hotel. They were reluctant to leave but, if that was what Decimo wanted, they would gladly fulfill it. Though, one particular thing was just begging for their attention. When they walked out, they saw - to their surprise - a frozen Kyoya, the emotion of shock and maybe, just maybe, a little bit of fear evident on his handsome face. It was odd for the stoic Kyoya to show any which kind of emotion, much more fear and surprise at that too! They knew well enough to leave him be... for the moment, at least. Mukuro made a mental note to pester him about it later on.
He wondered if he was dead. Well, he had woken up in a strange place. He stood in a field, surrounded by overgrown grass drenched in red paint - or what he hoped was paint - , looking up, the sky was purple ; nightfall was approaching. In the middle of the field, not too far away was a huge tree with branches outstretched not unlike an oversized umbrella. Making his way to the tree, he saw a man, sitting - if he could be called that. The "man" was he hideous. He was willowy, tall and lanky. Nothing unusual about that, no, but his skin was the weirdest shade of dark-magenta. With long pointed ears like an elf and lips that looked permanently drawn back into a sneer revealing two pairs of yellow incisors. And to add to the growing list of abnormalities, he was covered with long, ghastly green-black scars all over. He'd a long thick ugly scar stretching from his left temple to his upper right side of his lip. His eye-whites were eye-yellows with thick black veins popping up every here and there; his pupils a shade darker than his skin. His arms were easily twice the length of his torso and his nose seemed... non-existent. He wore hippie clothes, hair in dreadlocks and round rose-tinted shades. A bit peculiar, no? The "man" was unmoving, maybe dead? 'Man ~ ,' a draggy voice came out of the body. 'You aren't dead, man.'
Stopping all action, said boy went into Hyper Dying Will Mode. Wouldn't hurt to be careful. 'Who are you?'
The voice chuckled. 'Sawada Tsunayoshi, my man, are you sure you want to know my name?'
'... Yes.' Great, the "man" spoke hippie too.
'When I was alive, my buds called me, Aveani. I am the Mafia's version of the God of Death. A Shinigami, one might call me. Groovy, no?' he finished proudly. 'I might or might not have come to... I don't know... Kill you?' a playful smirk on his lips.
One might expect Dame-Tsuna to shriek like a banshee, but, Tsuna had grown up under Reborn's harsh tutelage. 'Yes... Very groovy... And you told me I'm not dead. Right.' Sarcasm dripping from his voice.
'You're not. You're close, so close.' Aveani sighed. 'But, man, you ain't dead yet.'
'So I'm like... in between?' asked Tsuna.
'Right on, man! The thing is, you're supposed to be dead. But someone...' Aveani crossed his gangly arms, an unsatisfied expression present. '...Someone "paid" me in exchange for a month or two extra for you to live.'
'Paid? Live? I'm supposed to be dead?' choked Tsuna. Who on bloody earth would pay anything to them just for him. His Guardians ? ... Tsuna rubbed his forehead in frustration.
Aveani gave a dismissive wave. His hand had only 3 fingers. 'No no, not your Guardians.' Aveani gave a knowing smile as Tsuna's startled expression. 'Surely you couldn't have expected me to be without powers.' Aveani snarled. 'But man,' Aveani pulled his shades down. 'there are thoughts that seems to be out of my reach. And I'm not digging that.'
Tsuna almost snorted. Reborn's spartan training was seriously coming in useful. Who knew that it could be used to shield thoughts not only from mafia bosses but from a Shinigami too!
'Ah, Reborn the Sun Arcobaleno. He's like, far out, man; escaped death so many times.' Aveani's brow furrowed. 'One day, be it by a bullet wound or old age or by some... other means, I will have him in my clutches soon. I will keep faith, baby.'
Again Tsuna had to hold back a snort. Reborn would surely have a long life ahead, He's fucking invincible for god's sake. Even a Shinigami would probably have the hardest time trying to put Reborn down. But that was beside the point. 'W-who "paid" for m-me?' Tsuna inquired.
'Heheh, your beloved ancestor of course.'
Takeshi was getting worried. They'd just been informed that Tsuna was in an self-induced comatose state. It was unsure whether he would get out of it or remain in a coma for years to come. Highly unlikely for the former but these doctors didn't know Tsuna like he did. Tsuna would fight his way through all this coma stuff... Right?
Ryohei swore he saw Tsuna's fingers twitch. A tiny twitch, yes, maybe but a twitch nonetheless. He considered telling the others but decided against it. He didn't want them putting their hopes up high only for it to come crashing down again. Right now, they needed cold hard truth; facts, not some illusion his exhausted brain decided to make up. He got up from the seat he'd been seating in for hours, an almost impossible feat for the energetic man. Ryohei made his way to a vending machine down the corridor.
'... Reborn... Are you absolutely positive that Tsuna... That he's...' the person stopped. Unable to continue his sentence.
Reborn nodded. Twiddling his thumbs. 'I'm positive, Dino.' he said quietly.
'... He's really going to die isn't he? Does he know? Will he know? Are you going to tell him? Is there a cure? Can. My. Little. Brother. Be. Saved?' Dino's flurry of questions were met with silence.
'Look at me Reborn. Look at me!' bellowed a frustrated Dino, grabbing Reborn by his shoulders. The usually calm, mild Don was furious. How dare Reborn look so helpless, be so helpless when there was a chance, nevermind it being close to nothing, a chance was still a chance and Reborn... Reborn the Hitman, the Arcobaleno, the Confidant of Vongola Decimo has given up. In a softer though firm volume, Dino said, 'Reborn, we must not give up. We must not. He will live against the odds as he has so many times before.'
Reborn simply pulled his fedora down, covering his sorrowful eyes. He wished it to be so. He closed his eyes. Tsuna...
Dino fell onto his knees, unable to support himself any longer. Tears leaving a wet trail as it ran down his face. 'Do not let my little brother die Reborn. I beg of you.'
Enma had collapsed on the floor. Reborn had come to visit him after the vague call. Only now did he fully understand the gravity - excuse the pun - of the situation. He'd heard of the disease. Heard of it as a third party, nothing more nothing less. But never in his wildest imagination could he ever have thought it would happen Tsuna, his brother, his best friend, his protector. 'R-reborn...' he laughed nervously. 'It's a joke. A hoax; a prank. Tsuna... Tsuna can't die.' He wiped furiously at his eyes, his voice cracking. 'Tsuna... - hic - He won't... - hic - die. He won't - hic - . He'll - hic - survive. M-make him R-reborn. - hic -.'
He hunched over on the floor, sobbing. Life without Tsuna was unimaginable. It would be a life without his innocence and familiar warmth. A life without laughter and fun. These past years, Tsuna had done everything in his power to ensure Enma's safety along with his family, his survival in this world, and his happiness. Tsuna had embraced him when no one else had. Letting loose one last sob, Enma's glistening gaze of fiery, unparalleled determination locked with Reborn's cold, calculating eyes and said, 'Tsuna... will not... die... He... will not die... Not, under my watch.'
Reborn heaved a sigh just as his laid his hand on the ice cold door handle that lead to Timoteo's personal room. Behind that ornately decorated door was an agitated Timoteo along with Iemitsu. Reborn had called the two on a rather short notice, asking ( read : demanding ) for an immediate meeting. On any other days, it'll be hard to get even a minute with these two but Reborn had only needed to say two words. "Tsuna" and "trouble". Reborn took a deep breath, mustered up his courage and opened the door, his eyes landing on both of them and decided to get straight to the point. 'Tsuna is dying.'
Iemitsu spat out his coffee - in an oddly comical way - as Timoteo dropped his glass of top-quality whiskey. 'What?' asked a glaring Timoteo.
The glare would've made Reborn's knees shake had he been a lesser man. 'I'll give you the details later but right now, all I know is that for this
'Iemitsu raised an eyebrow, almost threateningly, '"Dying"? "We"? "Plan"?'
'Xanxus.'
'Brat.' Xanxus swigged his bottle of liquor. 'What business does a scum like you have here?'
Reborn tried to word it in such a way that it would actually interest Xanxus. 'I need your help.' the Arcobaleno mentally berated himself for being so stupid. This animal - oops, person would be the hardest among all. He'd have to play some mental games.
Xanxus scoffed. 'If that's all you wanted, then leave trash.'
'Decimo is in trouble.'
'I. Don't. Fucking. Care.'
'He needs your help.'
'... Has the scum finally admitted my superiority?'
The banter went back and forth for close to an hour. Reborn sighed in exasperation. He was about to leave the room but stopped short slightly before he reached the door. 'Without your cooperation, Sawada Tsunayoshi will die. If or when - god forbid - he dies, you, will lose a supporter. You, will lose a rival. You, will lose a great boss. And you, will lose a friend.'
The hitman turned on his heel and promptly left the room.
'Ahh, what do we have here? Reborn-chan! To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?' said Byakuran. The heel of his hand supported his head and his ever present smile on his lips.
'... You know exactly why.' Reborn pulled the tip of his fedora down a bit, covering his eyes as he crossed his arms.
Byakuran was still smiling. 'Hmm.'
'...'
'...'
Reborn said, 'I know you haven't completely lost your ability. You're able to catch glimpses of the ongoings in the parallel worlds, are you not?' a smirk was playing on his lips.
Byakuran's effeminate laugh rang throughout the correctional facility he'd been placed in. He stopped short, narrowed his eyes. His carefree expression replaced by a mask of calm, serious, superiority. 'What do you want to know, Reborn.' It was a statement more than anything.
Reborn was reaching the end of his short... trip. He stepped into the porch of the Giglio Nero Famiglia, greeted immediately by Aria and her daughter, Yuni.
'Uncle Reborn!' a twinkle in Yuni's eyes as she tackled him. Had it been anybody else, Reborn would've shot 'em dead right there and then.
Without a word, Reborn simply patted Yuni's head, rather affectionately, as he shared a look with Aria that said "we need to talk".
'Oya, oya, Kyoya.'
Kyoya didn't need to look up to see who'd sat next to him.
'Kufufufu, why the long face? Tsunayoshi wouldn't be happy to be greeted by a face like yours when he wakes up.' Mukuro looked like he was about to start patronizing Kyoya had the latter not spoken first.
'The Omnivore wouldn't be here long enough to see my face or anyone else's for that matter.'
Mukuro stiffened. What? Did he just hear him correctly? The sentence wasn't exactly cryptic but neither was it straightforward. That sentence could only have so many meanings... He sneaked a glance at Kyoya and blanched.
What was to happen to Sawada Tsunayoshi?
So that's it for now. It was a bit confusing I know. :p Sorry, bros. HAHA. Well, if you'd like to read moreeeee~ Just click the story alert button and I will love you foreverrrrrr ;) HAHA, I'm halfway through writing the 3rd Chapter! :D
And if anyone is interested, I've recently gotten a review that suggests I get a BETA. So... Any betas reading this story right now? \:
Thank you for reading!