Rainbow and King
The first day that he met that girl, it was raining.
The sky seemed to be...
The first day that he met that girl, it was raining.
The sky seemed to be...
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Kings and Rainbows (KHR/K-Project)
- Thread starter Heaven Canceler
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Heaven Canceler
Behind You!
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Rainbow and King
The first day that he met that girl, it was raining.
The sky seemed to be crying in sadness as the water poured from the heavens above. In the same vein as the sky was covered in dark clouds, with the few free spots having turned a dim washed out colour, the streets were abandoned of people, with only a few roamers here and there.
There was only a single man who walked these streets in light clothes though. It was a man with a confident stride, wearing a simple shirt and jeans with a jacket that wasn't meant to warm, but instead to look good. Yet that man didn't show the slightest discomfort even in the middle of a rainstorm. Even with the crimson hair on his head waving in the stormy winds, there was no hesitation to his steps. Some People would have wondered if he was insane going out in such clothes in the sort of weather that ended up with the streets partially flooded.
Suoh Mikoto did have a pretty good reason to be out in this ungodly weather though. Even if it was already quite late, it couldn't be helped since he absolutely had to go.
After all, he had just earlier noticed that they had run out of cigarettes. And that was a state of things he just couldn't allow.
And there was nothing that could stop the Red King from getting a smoke when he wanted it. The shops should still be opened for a bit.
The rain didn't bother him all that much honestly, and neither did the moaning of the storm, though it was a bit annoying.
It wasn't like he could get wet unless he wanted anyway.
Even if some of the guys would probably tell him later that he shouldn't have gone out alone like that.
It wasn't like he was planning to start a fight with Scepter 4 or anything.
The few people on the street had done their best to not step in his way, either out of knowledge of just who he was, or because of some instinct that told them just how dangerous an individual he was.
Not that he was going to start a fight or anything, not without a reason at least.
For all that the Blue King acted like he was a walking bomb, waiting to blow up, he wasn't going to just start burning things down for no reason. He may have a temper, but that didn't mean he was a pyromaniac.
tap tap tap tap....
Mikoto stopped, listening to the sound of quick steps. Someone was running in his direction He frowned; the weather was bad enough that someone would want to leave as fast as possible for somewhere warm, but there was something strange to these steps.
A few moments later, the runner stepped out of an alleyway and quickly turned the corner into the main street.
Before crashing head-first into him.
He blinked and took a step back, though more out of surprise than because the guy actually pushing him back. That hadn't really even counted as a push; there hadn't been enough power and mass behind it.
Bump
Rather, the person who had crashed into him was the one which had fallen down on her bottom.
And yes, Red King quickly noticed that this person was indeed a girl, a young one at that. She couldn't be more than a few years older than Anna. This girl though, she was wearing some rather outlandish clothes if he had to say so. Well, maybe the clothes themselves weren't that strange, just who was wearing them.
That white uniform she was wearing remembered him a bit of a colour-swapped version of Scepter 4's attire. It actually felt strange to him to see a child in this kind of clothing. He was quite sure that Munakata wouldn't let a child wear his uniform, much less turn it white like this. The idea was kind of amusing though. He had to remember this; maybe he could get a red version of it for Anna, with lots and lots of frills, just to see the look on the man's face.
Still, the strangest thing wasn't the uniform but the hat. The girl was wearing a huge hat that kind of remembered him of a marshmallow made of black and white cloth.
"Hey, you alright kid? Need a hand?" His voice was gentle, which may have surprised some people who only knew him from sight. He bent down at the knee to get closer to the girl's own height and held a hand out to the child to help her with pulling herself up again. He could only see a bit of her face, but she had a somewhat unusual appearance clothing aside. Her hair was rather short for the most part, with longer bangs though and a ponytail that reached beyond her neck.
The girl looked up and he noticed that she seemed to have a tattoo of some sort on her left cheek, something like a orange flower? Then her blue eyes meet his own orbs of amber and he immediately knew something was definitely wrong. Because the girl didn't show either surprise, annoyance, worry, anger or any of the other emotions he would have expected a child to show in this situation.
Her eyes were filled with a distinct fear, fear of death, of being killed by someone whom she couldn't fight. He had seen it often enough to identify the emotion. There had been many times when he had to fight others and rarely were they capable of fighting him on anything close to equal terms.
He wasn't that used to seeing was a fear that wasn't directed at him at all.
The questions that filled his mind were quickly answered as half a dozen figures stepped out of the same alley as the girl. He looked up, seeing that they were wearing dark clothes, but of rather fine quality. They looked a bit like the more important Yakuza members he had occasionally gotten into conflict with.
"There is the brat, don't let her get away!" One of them shouted and immediately the group moved to surround the two of them. Mikoto observed the group positioning itself to close off all escape routes. The girl was already standing again, but had been too slow to get away before these guys had already made flight futile.
Well futile if you didn't count in him.
One of the groups drew a gun from a pocket in his jacket. He basically oozed off the feeling of a smug jerk and the smile with which he was looking at the girl was not nice at all. The child had actually turned away from him and stepped between the other man and the Red King.
"Now, you better don't try anything funny girl. Or we will have to put some holes into you and that guy over there. It would be better to get you too, but all we really want is the pacifier."
That... what? Mikoto couldn't help but to show his surprise at what the man was saying. These guys were going to shoot a child because of a pacifier? Were they really talking about the thing that you give to a baby to keep it from screaming? No, it had to be some slang or codeword, maybe a drug or something else? Was the kid smuggling something?
"No! I understand... please don't hurt anyone innocent. I will go with you..."
The man smiled and seemed about ready to order one of his apparent henchmen to extract the girl, but that was as far as he got.
The girl blinked and looked up as she felt a hand covering her hat and pushing her back a bit. It wasn't a forceful push, not it was even gentle, but it was still somehow too strong to resist.
"Oy kid, don't go around deciding who needs your protection."
The leader of the group that was threatening the girl blinked in surprise before laughing.
"Hahaha! This is priceless. Do you think we are playing around and this is a toy gun? Well, not that I care, I was going to kill you later for having seen our faces anyway."
Bang
There had been no hesitation when the man pulled the trigger of the gun. Mikoto concluded that he must have done this countless times by now, probably a professional killer who had grown used to death, bloodshed and killing.
"What.... what the heck?"
Sounds of surprise and disbelief came from everyone present except Mikoto. He ignored the shocked look of the girl behind him and let his red aura grow from the thin shield in front of him to surround both him and the child.
"What the fuck, I have never seen anything like that." The leader of the group took two steps back in shock and Mikoto didn't wait any longer before starting.
His red aura lashed out like a hungry beast and flew forward like a wild flame to engulf the one who had dared to shoot him. It was only because one of the men next to him jumped in and pushed him aside that he didn't get burned immediately.
Then there were frantic screams and a man trying to roll on the ground trying to push out fire that wouldn't stop burning him. Mikoto tilted his head and a small grin appeared on his face.
"This is the part where you run away screaming." He suggested as if it was the most normal thing in the world.
The various henchmen looked between each other, seemingly evaluating whether it would be better to run without orders of their leader or to risk the anger of this man. They decided on the former and turned tail, running back into the alleyway they came from.
The leader of the group screamed in rage, calling them all cowards unworthy of being mafia.
Then the guy shot him again.
Bang Bang Bang
To absolutely no effect as his aura absorbed the attacks without any damage taken.
"Huh..." Mikoto shrugged. "Suit yourself."
The ground below him cracked as he allowed his aura just a little more freedom. It was like a Tsunami of red roared out at everyone around him.
At the same time, a gigantic sword the size of a house materialized floating in the air above him and the girl. It was as red as the roaring aura flowing from the Red King and looked frighteningly dangerous.
By this point even the leader was screaming and running, but he was too slow and got caught up in the red wave of flame-like aura anyway.
"That is enough."
Mikoto blinked and turned his head to the girl which had grabbed onto his arm. She looked at him closely, with pure eyes that were filled with determination and an unshakeable will that defied her fragile looking body.
"Please stop!"
Mikoto closed his eyes and sighed.
In a heartbeat the sea of red surrounding the two had vanished, receding back under his command and only a few moments later, the huge sword floating high above them vanished into nothingness.
He looked around and saw the leader lying on the ground unconscious, with burn wounds all over his body. The rain was still falling on him. A moaning sound made him look for a moment at the guy who had pushed that one aside at the start of the "fight". He had avoided him with the wave of aura. If nothing else, he respected that sort of loyalty it took to take a hit for someone else.
"Alright, I think we can leave now." He said and turned back to the girl in white and black. "We need to get you out of the rain too, cannot have a kid get sick. There is a bar we can go to and you can call for someone to pick you up there." He gave the girl a look that made it clear that he would grab her by the scruff of her neck if she didn't come freely. No way was he letting some kid run through the streets after she had been hunted like that.
"What about them?" And he was surprised that the girl didn't seem worried about getting basically kidnapped by him, even if he did save her. He couldn't understand why the child was pointing at the people that had wanted to capture her and obviously expecting him to not just let them lie here. They could be happy he didn't go further them since she had asked.
"Why do you care..." the girl's eyes made it clear that she wouldn't budge on this point and he sighed."Alright, we will call the police once we are at the bar and tell them to pick the guys up." Not that he expected them to just overlook his Sword of Damocles appearing just now.
Finally the two started to get going and he came to the conclusion that it was about time to introduce himself.
"The name is Suoh Mikoto by the way kid, and you are?"
The girl walking next to him looked at the much bigger man with the crimson hair and eyes of amber, who was fearsome yet surprisingly kind.
"I am Yuni, thank you for your help." The girl smiled radiantly like a shining star and Mikoto returned the smile after a moment. He didn't even notice that she hadn't mentioned her last name.
That was the first fateful meeting between the Princess of the Arcobaleno and the Red King of HOMRA.
It was only an hour later Mikoto remembered that he had totally forgotten to get the cigarettes he had wanted and by then all the shops were already closed.
The first day that he met that girl, it was raining.
The sky seemed to be crying in sadness as the water poured from the heavens above. In the same vein as the sky was covered in dark clouds, with the few free spots having turned a dim washed out colour, the streets were abandoned of people, with only a few roamers here and there.
There was only a single man who walked these streets in light clothes though. It was a man with a confident stride, wearing a simple shirt and jeans with a jacket that wasn't meant to warm, but instead to look good. Yet that man didn't show the slightest discomfort even in the middle of a rainstorm. Even with the crimson hair on his head waving in the stormy winds, there was no hesitation to his steps. Some People would have wondered if he was insane going out in such clothes in the sort of weather that ended up with the streets partially flooded.
Suoh Mikoto did have a pretty good reason to be out in this ungodly weather though. Even if it was already quite late, it couldn't be helped since he absolutely had to go.
After all, he had just earlier noticed that they had run out of cigarettes. And that was a state of things he just couldn't allow.
And there was nothing that could stop the Red King from getting a smoke when he wanted it. The shops should still be opened for a bit.
The rain didn't bother him all that much honestly, and neither did the moaning of the storm, though it was a bit annoying.
It wasn't like he could get wet unless he wanted anyway.
Even if some of the guys would probably tell him later that he shouldn't have gone out alone like that.
It wasn't like he was planning to start a fight with Scepter 4 or anything.
The few people on the street had done their best to not step in his way, either out of knowledge of just who he was, or because of some instinct that told them just how dangerous an individual he was.
Not that he was going to start a fight or anything, not without a reason at least.
For all that the Blue King acted like he was a walking bomb, waiting to blow up, he wasn't going to just start burning things down for no reason. He may have a temper, but that didn't mean he was a pyromaniac.
tap tap tap tap....
Mikoto stopped, listening to the sound of quick steps. Someone was running in his direction He frowned; the weather was bad enough that someone would want to leave as fast as possible for somewhere warm, but there was something strange to these steps.
A few moments later, the runner stepped out of an alleyway and quickly turned the corner into the main street.
Before crashing head-first into him.
He blinked and took a step back, though more out of surprise than because the guy actually pushing him back. That hadn't really even counted as a push; there hadn't been enough power and mass behind it.
Bump
Rather, the person who had crashed into him was the one which had fallen down on her bottom.
And yes, Red King quickly noticed that this person was indeed a girl, a young one at that. She couldn't be more than a few years older than Anna. This girl though, she was wearing some rather outlandish clothes if he had to say so. Well, maybe the clothes themselves weren't that strange, just who was wearing them.
That white uniform she was wearing remembered him a bit of a colour-swapped version of Scepter 4's attire. It actually felt strange to him to see a child in this kind of clothing. He was quite sure that Munakata wouldn't let a child wear his uniform, much less turn it white like this. The idea was kind of amusing though. He had to remember this; maybe he could get a red version of it for Anna, with lots and lots of frills, just to see the look on the man's face.
Still, the strangest thing wasn't the uniform but the hat. The girl was wearing a huge hat that kind of remembered him of a marshmallow made of black and white cloth.
"Hey, you alright kid? Need a hand?" His voice was gentle, which may have surprised some people who only knew him from sight. He bent down at the knee to get closer to the girl's own height and held a hand out to the child to help her with pulling herself up again. He could only see a bit of her face, but she had a somewhat unusual appearance clothing aside. Her hair was rather short for the most part, with longer bangs though and a ponytail that reached beyond her neck.
The girl looked up and he noticed that she seemed to have a tattoo of some sort on her left cheek, something like a orange flower? Then her blue eyes meet his own orbs of amber and he immediately knew something was definitely wrong. Because the girl didn't show either surprise, annoyance, worry, anger or any of the other emotions he would have expected a child to show in this situation.
Her eyes were filled with a distinct fear, fear of death, of being killed by someone whom she couldn't fight. He had seen it often enough to identify the emotion. There had been many times when he had to fight others and rarely were they capable of fighting him on anything close to equal terms.
He wasn't that used to seeing was a fear that wasn't directed at him at all.
The questions that filled his mind were quickly answered as half a dozen figures stepped out of the same alley as the girl. He looked up, seeing that they were wearing dark clothes, but of rather fine quality. They looked a bit like the more important Yakuza members he had occasionally gotten into conflict with.
"There is the brat, don't let her get away!" One of them shouted and immediately the group moved to surround the two of them. Mikoto observed the group positioning itself to close off all escape routes. The girl was already standing again, but had been too slow to get away before these guys had already made flight futile.
Well futile if you didn't count in him.
One of the groups drew a gun from a pocket in his jacket. He basically oozed off the feeling of a smug jerk and the smile with which he was looking at the girl was not nice at all. The child had actually turned away from him and stepped between the other man and the Red King.
"Now, you better don't try anything funny girl. Or we will have to put some holes into you and that guy over there. It would be better to get you too, but all we really want is the pacifier."
That... what? Mikoto couldn't help but to show his surprise at what the man was saying. These guys were going to shoot a child because of a pacifier? Were they really talking about the thing that you give to a baby to keep it from screaming? No, it had to be some slang or codeword, maybe a drug or something else? Was the kid smuggling something?
"No! I understand... please don't hurt anyone innocent. I will go with you..."
The man smiled and seemed about ready to order one of his apparent henchmen to extract the girl, but that was as far as he got.
The girl blinked and looked up as she felt a hand covering her hat and pushing her back a bit. It wasn't a forceful push, not it was even gentle, but it was still somehow too strong to resist.
"Oy kid, don't go around deciding who needs your protection."
The leader of the group that was threatening the girl blinked in surprise before laughing.
"Hahaha! This is priceless. Do you think we are playing around and this is a toy gun? Well, not that I care, I was going to kill you later for having seen our faces anyway."
Bang
There had been no hesitation when the man pulled the trigger of the gun. Mikoto concluded that he must have done this countless times by now, probably a professional killer who had grown used to death, bloodshed and killing.
"What.... what the heck?"
Sounds of surprise and disbelief came from everyone present except Mikoto. He ignored the shocked look of the girl behind him and let his red aura grow from the thin shield in front of him to surround both him and the child.
"What the fuck, I have never seen anything like that." The leader of the group took two steps back in shock and Mikoto didn't wait any longer before starting.
His red aura lashed out like a hungry beast and flew forward like a wild flame to engulf the one who had dared to shoot him. It was only because one of the men next to him jumped in and pushed him aside that he didn't get burned immediately.
Then there were frantic screams and a man trying to roll on the ground trying to push out fire that wouldn't stop burning him. Mikoto tilted his head and a small grin appeared on his face.
"This is the part where you run away screaming." He suggested as if it was the most normal thing in the world.
The various henchmen looked between each other, seemingly evaluating whether it would be better to run without orders of their leader or to risk the anger of this man. They decided on the former and turned tail, running back into the alleyway they came from.
The leader of the group screamed in rage, calling them all cowards unworthy of being mafia.
Then the guy shot him again.
Bang Bang Bang
To absolutely no effect as his aura absorbed the attacks without any damage taken.
"Huh..." Mikoto shrugged. "Suit yourself."
The ground below him cracked as he allowed his aura just a little more freedom. It was like a Tsunami of red roared out at everyone around him.
At the same time, a gigantic sword the size of a house materialized floating in the air above him and the girl. It was as red as the roaring aura flowing from the Red King and looked frighteningly dangerous.
By this point even the leader was screaming and running, but he was too slow and got caught up in the red wave of flame-like aura anyway.
"That is enough."
Mikoto blinked and turned his head to the girl which had grabbed onto his arm. She looked at him closely, with pure eyes that were filled with determination and an unshakeable will that defied her fragile looking body.
"Please stop!"
Mikoto closed his eyes and sighed.
In a heartbeat the sea of red surrounding the two had vanished, receding back under his command and only a few moments later, the huge sword floating high above them vanished into nothingness.
He looked around and saw the leader lying on the ground unconscious, with burn wounds all over his body. The rain was still falling on him. A moaning sound made him look for a moment at the guy who had pushed that one aside at the start of the "fight". He had avoided him with the wave of aura. If nothing else, he respected that sort of loyalty it took to take a hit for someone else.
"Alright, I think we can leave now." He said and turned back to the girl in white and black. "We need to get you out of the rain too, cannot have a kid get sick. There is a bar we can go to and you can call for someone to pick you up there." He gave the girl a look that made it clear that he would grab her by the scruff of her neck if she didn't come freely. No way was he letting some kid run through the streets after she had been hunted like that.
"What about them?" And he was surprised that the girl didn't seem worried about getting basically kidnapped by him, even if he did save her. He couldn't understand why the child was pointing at the people that had wanted to capture her and obviously expecting him to not just let them lie here. They could be happy he didn't go further them since she had asked.
"Why do you care..." the girl's eyes made it clear that she wouldn't budge on this point and he sighed."Alright, we will call the police once we are at the bar and tell them to pick the guys up." Not that he expected them to just overlook his Sword of Damocles appearing just now.
Finally the two started to get going and he came to the conclusion that it was about time to introduce himself.
"The name is Suoh Mikoto by the way kid, and you are?"
The girl walking next to him looked at the much bigger man with the crimson hair and eyes of amber, who was fearsome yet surprisingly kind.
"I am Yuni, thank you for your help." The girl smiled radiantly like a shining star and Mikoto returned the smile after a moment. He didn't even notice that she hadn't mentioned her last name.
That was the first fateful meeting between the Princess of the Arcobaleno and the Red King of HOMRA.
It was only an hour later Mikoto remembered that he had totally forgotten to get the cigarettes he had wanted and by then all the shops were already closed.
Heaven Canceler
Behind You!
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A Late Evening in HOMRA
It was already dark when Mikoto reached Izumo's bar with the girl in tow. The man opened the door without a care and motioned the child behind him to get in with a lazy wink. "Welcome, welcome." He invited her with the same calm and almost lazy stride that he had kept up the whole way through the rainy streets. Without warning, the leader of HOMRA was then assaulted by the voices of people from all over the inside of the bar.
"Mikoto, are you alright?" "Boss, did you get into a fight?" "We saw the sword, everyone is ready to go out and show these blues who is the boss at your command!"
The Red King blinked and couldn't quite help feeling just a little annoyed at how everyone seemed ready to take out the pitchforks just because he used his powers a little. The joke of a fight hadn't even taken much more than a minute and yet everyone seemed to know of it. He sighed and scratched his head while looking through the bar. Izumo was fortunately keeping his calm and apparently doing his best to keep things from escalating into an outright battle from this whole thing...
"Now, now everyone, we should at least hear our King out before starting a war. Look, he even brought a young lady with him, so stop the screaming. You must be scaring her."
Mikoto glanced down at the girl next to him, which looked more amused than scared over the whole situation. Maybe she was used to being surrounded by trigger happy people? He didn't comment though, if it got his idiots to calm down that should do.
And it did work, though it took some more negotiation and a bit of stamping his foot for everyone to finally stop this whole thing. Some of them were annoyingly willing to run out into the rainy streets and start a fistfight with the nearest of the blues. He noted that Tatara was keeping out of the whole thing and just standing aside and holding his mouths while looking suspiciously like he was laughing.
"And get the kid a hot chocolate or something; she must be freezing to death here after being out in the rain for this long." He was half considering just drying her with his aura, but really, he didn't want to scare the girl.
A few minutes and a lot of ignored questions later and he had explained what had happened for the most part. At least now everyone knew that Scepter 4 had nothing to do with this. He avoided going into detail on why the guys were after the girl though. He decided to not tell them what he had heard about that "pacifier" stuff, whatever it was. Mikoto couldn't say whether the kid was smuggling something or another, but she didn't seem unhappy or sick so it should be alright. He would just have to mention to whoever picked her up that drug trafficking of any sort was a big no-no in their territory.
"And then I told the kid that she should come with me and warm up until someone can pick her up." He looked to his left where Yuni was sitting at the same chair as him and drinking the hot chocolate almost greedily. Her fingers were curled tightly around the cup of liquid chocolate. And she was smiling again, in a way that remembered him of Anna.
Meanwhile, Izumo was looking for his phone so she could call home. The barkeeper had also made sure that she took off her jacket and that ridiculous hat. It had become horribly soaked by now and everyone agreed that she would only freeze to death wearing it.
"Ah, I found it! Do you know the number of your parents?"
Izumo smiled at the young girl and bent down to give her the mobile phone that he had been looking for. But at his words, the eyes of the girl drooped down a little even while her smile remained in place. Mikoto couldn't quite place what he was getting from her; it was a bit like nostalgia, of remembering something most precious that wouldn't ever return. It wasn't the kind of feeling he would want a child this young to exude.
"My parents... are no longer here, but I have family that will pick me up."
A few seconds of awkward silence followed this. For such a young girl to speak of such a thing and still smile like that... even if there was a sense of melancholia in her voice.
"Well I see..." Totsuka spoke up from his spot next to the bar, breaking the silence that was just starting to build up. "then you should better call them right away. I am sure they are worried about you, right?"
Yuni turned her head to the weakest member of HOMRA and looked at him with a spark of curiosity in her eyes before nodding.
Finally the girl took the phone out of Izumo's hands which were still stretched out and the barkeeper chuckled.
It didn't take long before the headquarter of HOMRA was once again filled with the chattering of its members.
As Totsuka pointed Yuni to an empty table so she could call home in peace, Mikoto sat down in front of to the bar owner who had returned to his regular place behind the counter.
"So, what is it that is bothering you?" Izumo asked while mixing a drink for his king.
The redhead looked over to the girl who was dialling with a concentrated look on her face.
"There is something strange about the kid."
The bar owner paused in cleaning and looked curiously at his king. "Are you saying that she is a strain?" He asked with some interest. There was a bit of worry visible in his face and Mikoto could understand why he was feeling like that. This reminded him suspiciously of the time when they had first met Anna.
"I am not sure." He said with some annoyance colouring his voice. With a short motion, he grabbed the drink that Izumo had prepared and swallowed in short order. "What I get from her is a weak sense of peace and.... authority? No, that isn't quite right.... It is like her strength is covered by something, to the point where you can barely notice it even when you look for it. I almost overlooked it."
Both of them paused in their conversation. The Red King looked over to the child which had apparently reached home by now. She was talking rather loudly, to the point where they could hear her quite well.
"No Gamma, io sono perfettamente bene." 1
And apparently she wasn't speaking Japanese.
The Red King looked over to his right hand man and one of his eyebrows rose questioningly. In answer, the barkeeper only laughed. "Sorry, I don't understand a word she is saying. I can only say that she is talking in Italian, but beyond that I am in the same boat as you."
They could hear a sound of exasperation from the girl as she continued.
"Nessuno è in possesso di una pistola alla mia testa." 2
Then she paused and listened to the answer.
"Ah yes, I will give you the address right away."
The Red King turned back to the blonde man with the toned glasses. There was no real point in listening if they didn't understand even half of what she was saying anyway.
"Well, I don't think she is going to give us any trouble, if anything she is the one in trouble. So, do you think you can get some guys to check up on her from time to time? At least while she is in the city." Mikoto scratched his head and yawned and Izumo smiled. "Hmmm... yes; I think I can arrange some things. I will talk with her guardian though; I don't want our guys to be mistaken for more kidnappers and to get shot." The two of them exchanged a look and the Red King couldn't help chuckling. "Well, it isn't like we don't get into risky stuff normally anyway."
Meanwhile, Yuni had already handed the address of the bar to her dialogue partner and their conversation had become far more muted.
"Andrò al funerale." 3 The girl whispered into the phone, with her hand covering her mouth.
Then she tilted her head and nodded.
"Alright, I will wait here." Yuni pushed the button to stop the phone call and leaned backwards into the padding of the seat behind her. Now all she had to do was wait for Gamma to come and pick her up. Given how she knew him, he would be racing here with the greatest speed possible.
She hadn't expected that trying to meet with the Kurayama group would end up so badly. But who would have expected that they would end up in an ambush after specifically looking for a group that was more respectable among the local crime organizations. Yuni was rather sure that this hadn't been the real Yakuza group too. They had probably been tricked and gotten into a meeting with a fake group.
She didn't think that the real group would try to catch her for the bounty that Byakuran had put on her head.
The Arcobaleno of the Sky couldn't help but wonder if this was also part of destiny. Had something pointed her in this direction so she would meet this man with the crimson aura of power? At first she had thought they were Storm Flames, but they had been to easily drawn and formed and she hadn't seen a ring or box being used. Even Byakuran and his elite couldn't just use such an amount of power without even touching a Box or using a Ring.
But it wasn't quite right, it felt like that wasn't what she had seen there. Maybe she was just wrong, but somehow that power had a different sense to it. And the energy also didn't quite look the same as normal Storm Flames, though that could have easily been chalked up to them being a variation of the standard flame.
This was a new factor; something that she hadn't known existed at all.
"Mikoto, I cannot sleep." Yuni blinked and looked at where at where a girl with white hair was standing in a doorframe. She couldn't be more than 10 years old. The girl looked at the man with the red hair who had saved her and rubbed her eyes sleepily with one hand while suppressing a yawn.
And Yuni couldn't help noticing that she was wearing a big and fluffy lion pyjama.
"Ah, sorry Anna, do you want to join us here for a bit?"
The small girl nodded and rushed next to Yuni's saviour. The white-haired child then tried to get onto the same bench as the Red King, but apparently had some have trouble getting up. The man sighed and grabbed her by the scruff of her neck before sitting her down right next to him.
"Why were you out for so long?" The red-eyes girl asked and the barkeeper laughed at that.
"Our King got into a little tussle and saved a young lady from some rascals. Look, she is over there."
Yuni took a closer look at the girl, Anna, as she did the same to her. The Giglio Nero boss had always been good at reading people and there was something about this girl that was unusual. This was a place filled with people that can fight, that are strong. Maybe they weren't on the same level as Mikoto, but her instinct told her that everyone could fight to some degree. There were two exceptions. For one the man known as Totsuka seemed like a non-combatant and there was this girl which somehow did not seem out of place here.
"Orange"
The Sky Arcobaleno tilted her head as she noticed just what Anna was doing, namely holding a red marble in front of her eyes while she was looking at her. Orange she had said, like her pacifier, like her flame. Was this girl capable of sensing it even with the protection of the chains? Then she felt it, a feeling like a mist flame trying to reach inside her. With a small amount of her will and her flame, she pushed the influence away.
"Orange?" The barkeeper asked the girl in curiosity while bending forward to get closer to her. Anna twitched and then rubbed her head like something had hit her. "Ouchy..."
So she had really tried to read her, Yuni concluded. She had such a suspicion, but she hadn't expected someone this young to try such a thing. In a way, she felt guilty for hurting the child, but she couldn't very well let someone snoop in her head even if she didn't know how far the girl could actually go.
"Oh, you alright kid?" Mikoto looked at the white-haired child with worry and then held a hand against her head. "It doesn't feel like you have any fever."
The girl pushed his hand away and then hugged him.
"It is okay, I was just told to not eavesdrop."
Yuni couldn't help but appreciate the way that the girl was saying the truth while keeping everyone confused.
"Hmmmm... aright, but tell me if something is wrong." The Red King sighed and rubbed her head while looking mournfully at his empty glass. Izumo looked at him and chuckled before starting to prepare another drink.
"So, what was that about orange?" He asked finally.
The girl in the lion pyjama smiled and answered conspiratorially. "She has a really pretty orange. Of course it isn't as pretty as Mikoto's red, but it is still quite pretty."
The Red King blinked before looking around and making sure that no one else had heard what Anna had said. Then he patted her head. "Don't tell that to anyone else though, we don't want anyone to start a fight here, got it kid?" The girl nodded, her pyjama hood hopping up and down in the process.
What.... Yuni had understood some of that, but other parts she didn't. Somehow she felt like the other girl was playing with her, putting a big puzzle in front of her and challenging her to complete it on her own.
It was at that moment the doorbell rung and a man stepped inside. He had blond hair and an air of business and seriousness surrounded him. A few people looked up from where they were playing cards or talking. But only Yuni stood up from her seat at the sight of the man.
"Gamma!"
The blond man smiled and moved closer to her while nodding to the barkeeper and the other people inside. But she honestly didn't care about that right now. She just jumped at him and hugged Gamma without hesitation.
"Ah, princess, are you unhurt?" He asked while smiling.
"No, everything is alright right now." And as the two greeted each other like that, the Red King smiled and Izumo wondered if he should prepare a drink for the man.
And Anna just tilted her head while looking at the two through her marbles and mumbled something about the man being way too green.
It was already dark when Mikoto reached Izumo's bar with the girl in tow. The man opened the door without a care and motioned the child behind him to get in with a lazy wink. "Welcome, welcome." He invited her with the same calm and almost lazy stride that he had kept up the whole way through the rainy streets. Without warning, the leader of HOMRA was then assaulted by the voices of people from all over the inside of the bar.
"Mikoto, are you alright?" "Boss, did you get into a fight?" "We saw the sword, everyone is ready to go out and show these blues who is the boss at your command!"
The Red King blinked and couldn't quite help feeling just a little annoyed at how everyone seemed ready to take out the pitchforks just because he used his powers a little. The joke of a fight hadn't even taken much more than a minute and yet everyone seemed to know of it. He sighed and scratched his head while looking through the bar. Izumo was fortunately keeping his calm and apparently doing his best to keep things from escalating into an outright battle from this whole thing...
"Now, now everyone, we should at least hear our King out before starting a war. Look, he even brought a young lady with him, so stop the screaming. You must be scaring her."
Mikoto glanced down at the girl next to him, which looked more amused than scared over the whole situation. Maybe she was used to being surrounded by trigger happy people? He didn't comment though, if it got his idiots to calm down that should do.
And it did work, though it took some more negotiation and a bit of stamping his foot for everyone to finally stop this whole thing. Some of them were annoyingly willing to run out into the rainy streets and start a fistfight with the nearest of the blues. He noted that Tatara was keeping out of the whole thing and just standing aside and holding his mouths while looking suspiciously like he was laughing.
"And get the kid a hot chocolate or something; she must be freezing to death here after being out in the rain for this long." He was half considering just drying her with his aura, but really, he didn't want to scare the girl.
A few minutes and a lot of ignored questions later and he had explained what had happened for the most part. At least now everyone knew that Scepter 4 had nothing to do with this. He avoided going into detail on why the guys were after the girl though. He decided to not tell them what he had heard about that "pacifier" stuff, whatever it was. Mikoto couldn't say whether the kid was smuggling something or another, but she didn't seem unhappy or sick so it should be alright. He would just have to mention to whoever picked her up that drug trafficking of any sort was a big no-no in their territory.
"And then I told the kid that she should come with me and warm up until someone can pick her up." He looked to his left where Yuni was sitting at the same chair as him and drinking the hot chocolate almost greedily. Her fingers were curled tightly around the cup of liquid chocolate. And she was smiling again, in a way that remembered him of Anna.
Meanwhile, Izumo was looking for his phone so she could call home. The barkeeper had also made sure that she took off her jacket and that ridiculous hat. It had become horribly soaked by now and everyone agreed that she would only freeze to death wearing it.
"Ah, I found it! Do you know the number of your parents?"
Izumo smiled at the young girl and bent down to give her the mobile phone that he had been looking for. But at his words, the eyes of the girl drooped down a little even while her smile remained in place. Mikoto couldn't quite place what he was getting from her; it was a bit like nostalgia, of remembering something most precious that wouldn't ever return. It wasn't the kind of feeling he would want a child this young to exude.
"My parents... are no longer here, but I have family that will pick me up."
A few seconds of awkward silence followed this. For such a young girl to speak of such a thing and still smile like that... even if there was a sense of melancholia in her voice.
"Well I see..." Totsuka spoke up from his spot next to the bar, breaking the silence that was just starting to build up. "then you should better call them right away. I am sure they are worried about you, right?"
Yuni turned her head to the weakest member of HOMRA and looked at him with a spark of curiosity in her eyes before nodding.
Finally the girl took the phone out of Izumo's hands which were still stretched out and the barkeeper chuckled.
It didn't take long before the headquarter of HOMRA was once again filled with the chattering of its members.
As Totsuka pointed Yuni to an empty table so she could call home in peace, Mikoto sat down in front of to the bar owner who had returned to his regular place behind the counter.
"So, what is it that is bothering you?" Izumo asked while mixing a drink for his king.
The redhead looked over to the girl who was dialling with a concentrated look on her face.
"There is something strange about the kid."
The bar owner paused in cleaning and looked curiously at his king. "Are you saying that she is a strain?" He asked with some interest. There was a bit of worry visible in his face and Mikoto could understand why he was feeling like that. This reminded him suspiciously of the time when they had first met Anna.
"I am not sure." He said with some annoyance colouring his voice. With a short motion, he grabbed the drink that Izumo had prepared and swallowed in short order. "What I get from her is a weak sense of peace and.... authority? No, that isn't quite right.... It is like her strength is covered by something, to the point where you can barely notice it even when you look for it. I almost overlooked it."
Both of them paused in their conversation. The Red King looked over to the child which had apparently reached home by now. She was talking rather loudly, to the point where they could hear her quite well.
"No Gamma, io sono perfettamente bene." 1
And apparently she wasn't speaking Japanese.
The Red King looked over to his right hand man and one of his eyebrows rose questioningly. In answer, the barkeeper only laughed. "Sorry, I don't understand a word she is saying. I can only say that she is talking in Italian, but beyond that I am in the same boat as you."
They could hear a sound of exasperation from the girl as she continued.
"Nessuno è in possesso di una pistola alla mia testa." 2
Then she paused and listened to the answer.
"Ah yes, I will give you the address right away."
The Red King turned back to the blonde man with the toned glasses. There was no real point in listening if they didn't understand even half of what she was saying anyway.
"Well, I don't think she is going to give us any trouble, if anything she is the one in trouble. So, do you think you can get some guys to check up on her from time to time? At least while she is in the city." Mikoto scratched his head and yawned and Izumo smiled. "Hmmm... yes; I think I can arrange some things. I will talk with her guardian though; I don't want our guys to be mistaken for more kidnappers and to get shot." The two of them exchanged a look and the Red King couldn't help chuckling. "Well, it isn't like we don't get into risky stuff normally anyway."
Meanwhile, Yuni had already handed the address of the bar to her dialogue partner and their conversation had become far more muted.
"Andrò al funerale." 3 The girl whispered into the phone, with her hand covering her mouth.
Then she tilted her head and nodded.
"Alright, I will wait here." Yuni pushed the button to stop the phone call and leaned backwards into the padding of the seat behind her. Now all she had to do was wait for Gamma to come and pick her up. Given how she knew him, he would be racing here with the greatest speed possible.
She hadn't expected that trying to meet with the Kurayama group would end up so badly. But who would have expected that they would end up in an ambush after specifically looking for a group that was more respectable among the local crime organizations. Yuni was rather sure that this hadn't been the real Yakuza group too. They had probably been tricked and gotten into a meeting with a fake group.
She didn't think that the real group would try to catch her for the bounty that Byakuran had put on her head.
The Arcobaleno of the Sky couldn't help but wonder if this was also part of destiny. Had something pointed her in this direction so she would meet this man with the crimson aura of power? At first she had thought they were Storm Flames, but they had been to easily drawn and formed and she hadn't seen a ring or box being used. Even Byakuran and his elite couldn't just use such an amount of power without even touching a Box or using a Ring.
But it wasn't quite right, it felt like that wasn't what she had seen there. Maybe she was just wrong, but somehow that power had a different sense to it. And the energy also didn't quite look the same as normal Storm Flames, though that could have easily been chalked up to them being a variation of the standard flame.
This was a new factor; something that she hadn't known existed at all.
"Mikoto, I cannot sleep." Yuni blinked and looked at where at where a girl with white hair was standing in a doorframe. She couldn't be more than 10 years old. The girl looked at the man with the red hair who had saved her and rubbed her eyes sleepily with one hand while suppressing a yawn.
And Yuni couldn't help noticing that she was wearing a big and fluffy lion pyjama.
"Ah, sorry Anna, do you want to join us here for a bit?"
The small girl nodded and rushed next to Yuni's saviour. The white-haired child then tried to get onto the same bench as the Red King, but apparently had some have trouble getting up. The man sighed and grabbed her by the scruff of her neck before sitting her down right next to him.
"Why were you out for so long?" The red-eyes girl asked and the barkeeper laughed at that.
"Our King got into a little tussle and saved a young lady from some rascals. Look, she is over there."
Yuni took a closer look at the girl, Anna, as she did the same to her. The Giglio Nero boss had always been good at reading people and there was something about this girl that was unusual. This was a place filled with people that can fight, that are strong. Maybe they weren't on the same level as Mikoto, but her instinct told her that everyone could fight to some degree. There were two exceptions. For one the man known as Totsuka seemed like a non-combatant and there was this girl which somehow did not seem out of place here.
"Orange"
The Sky Arcobaleno tilted her head as she noticed just what Anna was doing, namely holding a red marble in front of her eyes while she was looking at her. Orange she had said, like her pacifier, like her flame. Was this girl capable of sensing it even with the protection of the chains? Then she felt it, a feeling like a mist flame trying to reach inside her. With a small amount of her will and her flame, she pushed the influence away.
"Orange?" The barkeeper asked the girl in curiosity while bending forward to get closer to her. Anna twitched and then rubbed her head like something had hit her. "Ouchy..."
So she had really tried to read her, Yuni concluded. She had such a suspicion, but she hadn't expected someone this young to try such a thing. In a way, she felt guilty for hurting the child, but she couldn't very well let someone snoop in her head even if she didn't know how far the girl could actually go.
"Oh, you alright kid?" Mikoto looked at the white-haired child with worry and then held a hand against her head. "It doesn't feel like you have any fever."
The girl pushed his hand away and then hugged him.
"It is okay, I was just told to not eavesdrop."
Yuni couldn't help but appreciate the way that the girl was saying the truth while keeping everyone confused.
"Hmmmm... aright, but tell me if something is wrong." The Red King sighed and rubbed her head while looking mournfully at his empty glass. Izumo looked at him and chuckled before starting to prepare another drink.
"So, what was that about orange?" He asked finally.
The girl in the lion pyjama smiled and answered conspiratorially. "She has a really pretty orange. Of course it isn't as pretty as Mikoto's red, but it is still quite pretty."
The Red King blinked before looking around and making sure that no one else had heard what Anna had said. Then he patted her head. "Don't tell that to anyone else though, we don't want anyone to start a fight here, got it kid?" The girl nodded, her pyjama hood hopping up and down in the process.
What.... Yuni had understood some of that, but other parts she didn't. Somehow she felt like the other girl was playing with her, putting a big puzzle in front of her and challenging her to complete it on her own.
It was at that moment the doorbell rung and a man stepped inside. He had blond hair and an air of business and seriousness surrounded him. A few people looked up from where they were playing cards or talking. But only Yuni stood up from her seat at the sight of the man.
"Gamma!"
The blond man smiled and moved closer to her while nodding to the barkeeper and the other people inside. But she honestly didn't care about that right now. She just jumped at him and hugged Gamma without hesitation.
"Ah, princess, are you unhurt?" He asked while smiling.
"No, everything is alright right now." And as the two greeted each other like that, the Red King smiled and Izumo wondered if he should prepare a drink for the man.
And Anna just tilted her head while looking at the two through her marbles and mumbled something about the man being way too green.
1. No Gamma, I am perfectly fine.
2. Nobody is holding a gun at my head.
3. I will go to the funeral.
2. Nobody is holding a gun at my head.
3. I will go to the funeral.
Heaven Canceler
Behind You!
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The Princess's Departure
"Thank you very much for protecting Yuni-sama and taking care of her until I came here."
The Red King had honestly not expected to have someone bowing in front of him as a sign of thanks. It was not like it had never happened before, but normally that was bound to people whom HOMRA did a big favour. And even then, it tended to be limited to certain groups, like Yakuza and big business organizations.
He grunted and looked down at the man who was bowing before him. "It wasn't a big deal." Then he scratched his head and continued after a second. "Anyone capable would have done the same."
Gamma closed his eyes at these words.
"If only that were true." He whispered to himself. Indeed, the world would be a better place if anyone would be willing to lend their hand to a child in need.
But he knew very well that this wasn't the case.
There were many who wouldn't lift a finger when another was crying out in pain in front of them, much less if it meant endangering their own safety.
Gamma rose again and looked at the man called Mikoto Suoh. Had the princess been kidnapped, he would have undoubtedly destroyed a good chunk of the city trying to find her. He still felt nothing but shame at allowing them to split him off from the princess and being held off by their fighter. If they hadn't concentrated all forces with the ability to use flames on him and the other combat-capable members... if they had someone to spare to catch Yuni, someone strong enough to deal with this man, the entire situation could have ended much worse.
He wouldn't allow something like this to happen again.
"Even then, we are still within your debt for saving her." He turned his head to Yuni who was standing next to him. His boss was looking at the girl next to the red-haired man. It was strange, the situation was almost like looking into a mirror and he couldn't help but seize up the man in front of him again. Red hair, amber eyes and clothes that made him look a bit like the gang member he had seen so often in the streets of Italy.
Though to be honest, he was pretty sure the man was actually the leader of a gang of sorts given what he had been told about how drug trade wasn't acceptable within their territory when taken aside.
That plus the lazy authority that he exuded made him wary of the man. There was no hostility and he was truly thankful to the man. No, the feeling he got from the man was that of a great beast, one that had no interest in battle, but still too dangerous to treat as a civilian.
"It is about time we leave, there are many things we have to do and we need to get ready as we have business outside the city rather soon." Gamma decided to keep things short and turned to his Boss. But before he could ask her if she still needed something, they were interrupted by someone.
"Are you leaving very soon?"
The small girl with the hair the colour of snow had spoken. He turned to her and heard the attention of several other people in the bar similarly switch to her. Formerly, the conversation between him and the red king had been a bit of a focus for a good deal of the people here, but now the attention switched to the girl.
He noticed with some surprise that the child immediately stepped halfway behind Mikoto Suoh. She was using the big man's body like a shield, apparently somewhat discomforted by everyone's interest being now on her. Her head poked out from behind the man and she looked between him and the princess.
"My birthday is tomorrow, do you want to come too? We are having cake and play games."
Gamma felt a bit baffled...
He hadn't expected that.... to be invited to a child's birthday party of all things.
"You can take him with you if you want." The girl said while pointing at Gamma.
Ah, he should have expected that the child would be more interested in the princess joining in her party. Yuni was after all close to her age, if a bit older than the red-eyed child. It did sting a bit how the girl had spoken though, like he was some sort of bothersome extra that had to be accepted if she wanted a friend to come playing.
The bearer of the sky pacifier turned to him, her eyes questioning and he knew what she was wondering. He pondered the question himself and after a few seconds of contemplation decided that it should be alright. They would need some time to prepare first anyway and couldn't leave immediately, even if he would prefer it.
And Yuni could use a bit of time to relax and maybe she would even have a little fun like the child that she couldn't be. He doubted it, but Gamma could hope.
His nod brought a smile to his boss's face, making it another good reason to allow this.
"It should be okay; we will join a bit before the party starts."
If this gave his charge a little time to have fun and not worry quite as much, then going to such a party should be time well spent.
*Scene Break*
Yuni stepped out of the bar with the same calm strides that she had gone inside. Right now, she couldn't feel worried when she had been reunited with her protector. There was no one whom she trusted more than Gamma.
Her protector was holding an umbrella to protect both of them from the rain which was still falling down from the sky above. Although the rainstorm had calmed down somewhat, it was still quite the downpour and she was happy that she didn't have to walk through the streets without something to stop her from getting drenched again.
Then she noticed the many presences all over the street. There were forms hidden in the alleyways, humans walking down the streets and a few people sitting in cars not far away. She even thought there was one or two on the rooftops across the street.
Giglio Nero had never been a truly big mafia family, not when compared to the grand Vongola at its height or such families like the Tomaso or the Cavallone. They weren't tiny, but they were a rather moderate family, with a few close members and more people that worked for them but weren't truly in the closer circle of the family. For this many people to be here meant that Gamma had mobilized everyone who had come with them to Japan in case this was a trap.
Yuni turned her head to him and gave him a look.
"I told you that I was alright."
He chuckled at that and motioned for her to move to an empty car not far away.
"I thought it would be better to be safe than sorry."
The two of them stepped inside the car. It was big and black, not quite a limousine, but it did have bullet proof glass from what Yuni remembered. And the glass was blackened so that you wouldn't be able to see anything from the outside. Her protector closed the door of the car and the girl sighed before speaking up.
"You can show yourself now; there is no one here whom I wouldn't trust."
Gamma immediately tensed at her words and started to take stock of everything inside the vehicle more clearly.
Without warning, the air opposite of him seemed to bend in a manner that he knew far too well. Light and shadows played with each other before soon coalescing into the form of a young woman. Her should length purple hair and the simple dress which was complimented by a jacket didn't make the woman stand out. But even if she hadn't appeared like this, the eye patch covering her right eye made it easy to identify this woman.
"It is good to see that you are still well, Chrome Dokuro."
Yuni took the words out of his mouth, though he probably wouldn't have been so friendly.
"Truly, your eyes are as good as one would expect of the Sky Arcobaleno. To think you would see through my disguise with such ease." The woman smiled at him and the princess and Gamma wondered, just how long had she been here. Had she observed their meeting with the man in red? Or had she been there before that....
"No, if you were unhurt, then I am sure I wouldn't have noticed anything."
He blinked before looking at the woman more closely. Yes, there were a few signs of suppressed pain visible on her face, though he saw no wounds anywhere. But then, for a skilled user of the mist, hiding their state of being was almost as easy as breathing. Yes, now that he looked closely, there was a hint of something red at her side... and then it was gone again, hidden behind shadows clinging to the woman.
If anything, the fact that she could still produce such an effect while apparently in pain was impressive and showed how dangerous the mist guardian of the Vongola was.
The 10th generation was known for the irregularity of its mist guardian position. It was not unknown for the Vongola to have more than one member filling the same position, though he only remembered that being the case thrice, once with a married pair which would never split and another time with a pair of twins who refused to fight over the role. There had even been one time he knew where three members shared one position.
Even then, the decision to take Rokudo Mukuro and his student, the princess of shadows for the job in conjunction was surprising to the mafia world. The former was well known as a dangerous person and criminal even in their world and thus people generally wondered how they kept his loyalty assured. On the other hand, Chrome Dokuro was a virtually unknown force before joining the Vongola and over the years all sorts of rumours had appeared over where she had originated. From her being a magician that had made a deal with Mukuro, to being a summoned demon, everything and anything had been suggested.
"If it isn't too much to ask, what exactly have you been doing? Last time we met you were unhurt from what I knew" He couldn't help probing.
The woman gave a short laugh before pausing, seemingly concentrating on something.
"I have been rather busy helping your group hiding, you know. Even in the fight earlier today, I had to keep a few illusionists in check." Gamma blinked, he hadn't noticed that the group that attacked them had any illusionists.... which meant the woman was either lying or had done a very good job at dealing with them.
Chrome sighed before turning her attention back to Yuni.
"I have found the exact location of the funeral, as ordered I will escort you and your entourage there." Then she frowned. "Though it would be preferable if you only brought one or two people with you, there are many people who would love to ruin that day and hiding that many are always a problem."
There was a pause between everyone inside the car and Gamma wondered if there was anything else to discuss.
"My condolences."
He blinked at the words and turned from the purple-haired woman to the princess that was his boss. She was looking slightly down with a saddened look.
"I never gave them to you, even when you helped us get out of Italy."
The blond man turned back to Chrome and saw a sad smile that looked out of place on the female. Somehow he hadn't expected such a look and for the first time he noticed the signs of fatigue on her. Not just from being wounded, no somehow the Vongola mist guardian felt incredibly exhausted to him just now.
"Thank you... it is alright though. I have accepted it by now."
Somehow Gamma felt that he should say something, give some form of sympathy, but he honestly didn't know what to do. Instead he just waited for a few minutes until their car stopped next to the sidewalk and the mist guardian could vanish through the opened door without so much as a wisp of light or an uttered goodbye.
The second-in command of the Giglio Nero felt strange, like a mix of sadness and peace. He hadn't liked the woman when they had first met and hadn't grown fond of her until now. Even with her help, she was still not someone of the family and worse, she remembered him of that man, that traitor, even if only because they used the same flame.
But now he couldn't help feeling like he could trust her because she knew the pain of losing something most precious too.
"Let us go home Gamma. We need to get ready and I have to search out some casual clothes for that party."
He turned to Yuni, shaken out of his thoughts and after a moment, nodded.
"Yes princess, I think that is a very good idea."
"Thank you very much for protecting Yuni-sama and taking care of her until I came here."
The Red King had honestly not expected to have someone bowing in front of him as a sign of thanks. It was not like it had never happened before, but normally that was bound to people whom HOMRA did a big favour. And even then, it tended to be limited to certain groups, like Yakuza and big business organizations.
He grunted and looked down at the man who was bowing before him. "It wasn't a big deal." Then he scratched his head and continued after a second. "Anyone capable would have done the same."
Gamma closed his eyes at these words.
"If only that were true." He whispered to himself. Indeed, the world would be a better place if anyone would be willing to lend their hand to a child in need.
But he knew very well that this wasn't the case.
There were many who wouldn't lift a finger when another was crying out in pain in front of them, much less if it meant endangering their own safety.
Gamma rose again and looked at the man called Mikoto Suoh. Had the princess been kidnapped, he would have undoubtedly destroyed a good chunk of the city trying to find her. He still felt nothing but shame at allowing them to split him off from the princess and being held off by their fighter. If they hadn't concentrated all forces with the ability to use flames on him and the other combat-capable members... if they had someone to spare to catch Yuni, someone strong enough to deal with this man, the entire situation could have ended much worse.
He wouldn't allow something like this to happen again.
"Even then, we are still within your debt for saving her." He turned his head to Yuni who was standing next to him. His boss was looking at the girl next to the red-haired man. It was strange, the situation was almost like looking into a mirror and he couldn't help but seize up the man in front of him again. Red hair, amber eyes and clothes that made him look a bit like the gang member he had seen so often in the streets of Italy.
Though to be honest, he was pretty sure the man was actually the leader of a gang of sorts given what he had been told about how drug trade wasn't acceptable within their territory when taken aside.
That plus the lazy authority that he exuded made him wary of the man. There was no hostility and he was truly thankful to the man. No, the feeling he got from the man was that of a great beast, one that had no interest in battle, but still too dangerous to treat as a civilian.
"It is about time we leave, there are many things we have to do and we need to get ready as we have business outside the city rather soon." Gamma decided to keep things short and turned to his Boss. But before he could ask her if she still needed something, they were interrupted by someone.
"Are you leaving very soon?"
The small girl with the hair the colour of snow had spoken. He turned to her and heard the attention of several other people in the bar similarly switch to her. Formerly, the conversation between him and the red king had been a bit of a focus for a good deal of the people here, but now the attention switched to the girl.
He noticed with some surprise that the child immediately stepped halfway behind Mikoto Suoh. She was using the big man's body like a shield, apparently somewhat discomforted by everyone's interest being now on her. Her head poked out from behind the man and she looked between him and the princess.
"My birthday is tomorrow, do you want to come too? We are having cake and play games."
Gamma felt a bit baffled...
He hadn't expected that.... to be invited to a child's birthday party of all things.
"You can take him with you if you want." The girl said while pointing at Gamma.
Ah, he should have expected that the child would be more interested in the princess joining in her party. Yuni was after all close to her age, if a bit older than the red-eyed child. It did sting a bit how the girl had spoken though, like he was some sort of bothersome extra that had to be accepted if she wanted a friend to come playing.
The bearer of the sky pacifier turned to him, her eyes questioning and he knew what she was wondering. He pondered the question himself and after a few seconds of contemplation decided that it should be alright. They would need some time to prepare first anyway and couldn't leave immediately, even if he would prefer it.
And Yuni could use a bit of time to relax and maybe she would even have a little fun like the child that she couldn't be. He doubted it, but Gamma could hope.
His nod brought a smile to his boss's face, making it another good reason to allow this.
"It should be okay; we will join a bit before the party starts."
If this gave his charge a little time to have fun and not worry quite as much, then going to such a party should be time well spent.
*Scene Break*
Yuni stepped out of the bar with the same calm strides that she had gone inside. Right now, she couldn't feel worried when she had been reunited with her protector. There was no one whom she trusted more than Gamma.
Her protector was holding an umbrella to protect both of them from the rain which was still falling down from the sky above. Although the rainstorm had calmed down somewhat, it was still quite the downpour and she was happy that she didn't have to walk through the streets without something to stop her from getting drenched again.
Then she noticed the many presences all over the street. There were forms hidden in the alleyways, humans walking down the streets and a few people sitting in cars not far away. She even thought there was one or two on the rooftops across the street.
Giglio Nero had never been a truly big mafia family, not when compared to the grand Vongola at its height or such families like the Tomaso or the Cavallone. They weren't tiny, but they were a rather moderate family, with a few close members and more people that worked for them but weren't truly in the closer circle of the family. For this many people to be here meant that Gamma had mobilized everyone who had come with them to Japan in case this was a trap.
Yuni turned her head to him and gave him a look.
"I told you that I was alright."
He chuckled at that and motioned for her to move to an empty car not far away.
"I thought it would be better to be safe than sorry."
The two of them stepped inside the car. It was big and black, not quite a limousine, but it did have bullet proof glass from what Yuni remembered. And the glass was blackened so that you wouldn't be able to see anything from the outside. Her protector closed the door of the car and the girl sighed before speaking up.
"You can show yourself now; there is no one here whom I wouldn't trust."
Gamma immediately tensed at her words and started to take stock of everything inside the vehicle more clearly.
Without warning, the air opposite of him seemed to bend in a manner that he knew far too well. Light and shadows played with each other before soon coalescing into the form of a young woman. Her should length purple hair and the simple dress which was complimented by a jacket didn't make the woman stand out. But even if she hadn't appeared like this, the eye patch covering her right eye made it easy to identify this woman.
"It is good to see that you are still well, Chrome Dokuro."
Yuni took the words out of his mouth, though he probably wouldn't have been so friendly.
"Truly, your eyes are as good as one would expect of the Sky Arcobaleno. To think you would see through my disguise with such ease." The woman smiled at him and the princess and Gamma wondered, just how long had she been here. Had she observed their meeting with the man in red? Or had she been there before that....
"No, if you were unhurt, then I am sure I wouldn't have noticed anything."
He blinked before looking at the woman more closely. Yes, there were a few signs of suppressed pain visible on her face, though he saw no wounds anywhere. But then, for a skilled user of the mist, hiding their state of being was almost as easy as breathing. Yes, now that he looked closely, there was a hint of something red at her side... and then it was gone again, hidden behind shadows clinging to the woman.
If anything, the fact that she could still produce such an effect while apparently in pain was impressive and showed how dangerous the mist guardian of the Vongola was.
The 10th generation was known for the irregularity of its mist guardian position. It was not unknown for the Vongola to have more than one member filling the same position, though he only remembered that being the case thrice, once with a married pair which would never split and another time with a pair of twins who refused to fight over the role. There had even been one time he knew where three members shared one position.
Even then, the decision to take Rokudo Mukuro and his student, the princess of shadows for the job in conjunction was surprising to the mafia world. The former was well known as a dangerous person and criminal even in their world and thus people generally wondered how they kept his loyalty assured. On the other hand, Chrome Dokuro was a virtually unknown force before joining the Vongola and over the years all sorts of rumours had appeared over where she had originated. From her being a magician that had made a deal with Mukuro, to being a summoned demon, everything and anything had been suggested.
"If it isn't too much to ask, what exactly have you been doing? Last time we met you were unhurt from what I knew" He couldn't help probing.
The woman gave a short laugh before pausing, seemingly concentrating on something.
"I have been rather busy helping your group hiding, you know. Even in the fight earlier today, I had to keep a few illusionists in check." Gamma blinked, he hadn't noticed that the group that attacked them had any illusionists.... which meant the woman was either lying or had done a very good job at dealing with them.
Chrome sighed before turning her attention back to Yuni.
"I have found the exact location of the funeral, as ordered I will escort you and your entourage there." Then she frowned. "Though it would be preferable if you only brought one or two people with you, there are many people who would love to ruin that day and hiding that many are always a problem."
There was a pause between everyone inside the car and Gamma wondered if there was anything else to discuss.
"My condolences."
He blinked at the words and turned from the purple-haired woman to the princess that was his boss. She was looking slightly down with a saddened look.
"I never gave them to you, even when you helped us get out of Italy."
The blond man turned back to Chrome and saw a sad smile that looked out of place on the female. Somehow he hadn't expected such a look and for the first time he noticed the signs of fatigue on her. Not just from being wounded, no somehow the Vongola mist guardian felt incredibly exhausted to him just now.
"Thank you... it is alright though. I have accepted it by now."
Somehow Gamma felt that he should say something, give some form of sympathy, but he honestly didn't know what to do. Instead he just waited for a few minutes until their car stopped next to the sidewalk and the mist guardian could vanish through the opened door without so much as a wisp of light or an uttered goodbye.
The second-in command of the Giglio Nero felt strange, like a mix of sadness and peace. He hadn't liked the woman when they had first met and hadn't grown fond of her until now. Even with her help, she was still not someone of the family and worse, she remembered him of that man, that traitor, even if only because they used the same flame.
But now he couldn't help feeling like he could trust her because she knew the pain of losing something most precious too.
"Let us go home Gamma. We need to get ready and I have to search out some casual clothes for that party."
He turned to Yuni, shaken out of his thoughts and after a moment, nodded.
"Yes princess, I think that is a very good idea."
Last edited:
Heaven Canceler
Behind You!
- Joined
- Nov 30, 2013
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White Mastermind and Dark Knight
It was a dark room in a closed-of room within an empty apartment. He had made sure that no one knew that he was here. The people who had lived in this place had been possessed of a sudden urge to go journeying through the wilderness of Japan. In addition, they had been so kind as to let him live here in the meantime. Well, at least that was what happened after he had talked with them for a bit. The neighbours had also suddenly lost all interest in the area, leaving for trips quite often and they never noticed his presence at all.
To think that he was forced to use his abilities for something like this....
The man with the black hair was bowing in front of a strange disk. The item began to shine with a bright light and a few moments later a hologram appeared. It was of a man with white and spiky hair. His eyes were of a deep purple and below his left eye was a simple tattoo of the same colour as them.
Genkishi did not know what to think as he looked upon the face of his god. Under different circumstances, he may have been happy to see his lord and master. But he knew.... he had lost the favour of Lord Byakuran.
"Genkishi-kun, oh Genkishi-kun, what am I supposed to do with you?"
The man smiled a strange smile while holding his chin with one hand. There was a spark of something in his eyes. It looked almost like he truly believed that everything around him only existed to amuse him.
"My Lord, I apologize deeply for my mistakes in the past, but my agents have followed the Sky Arcobaleno and I am going to capture her as soon as I reach the location."
The holography of the white-haired man chuckled and looked at the man in black with a smile that refused to lose any of its cheerfulness.
"Oh, so you have finally found her? After she managed to flee to Japan because you weren't able to kill her little family? And then you didn't even manage to stop them from getting away."
Genkishi was certain that he had never felt such humiliation as on that day, when that girl had decided to run away. He had no clue why she had changed her plans. She had declared that she would talk with Byakuran in a private Meeting to avoid further conflict between their families. His lord hadn't been happy for his failure in killing all these fools, but he had been forgiven for his failure, especially after he heard that she would come to see him the next day.
Then everything had fallen apart. The girl had stepped out of the house ready to g to the meeting. Next thing he knew, she was just standing in front of the car for a whole minute while spacing out. And then, without giving any explanation, she had declared that they would flee from Italy and take everything worthwhile with them. It was still beyond him why she would do something so ridiculously stupid. The child was young, but not naïve. Not in the sense that she didn't know the dangers she was creating. No, she knew what she was doing and did it anyway. She had to know that Byakuran wouldn't allow them to leave without a fight, and also, she knew that he was a traitor.
She had been the first person he knew that had seen through his illusions with such ease. Yuni had known that he was a traitor, that he would try to stop them and yet.... she had still looked at him with these eyes. Eyes filled with a sadness and resignation that made his insides boil with a mix of emotions he couldn't understand.
He hadn't fallen to these eyes a second time though. His blade cut true and he had told her clearly that either she would have to give up, or everyone she cared about would die. The only one among them that had a chance against him was Gamma, and that man still wasn't enough to win.
"Oh, I can see the look in your eyes. Are you remembering what happened?" The amusements never left his master's eyes, but he could feel the slight tenseness in his voice. Genkishi had learned how to read Byakuran better than most people, and he knew when his God was unsatisfied.
"I always wondered how that could have happened. That woman appeared from nowhere by your own words, with you not noticing until she interfered in the fight. That means she either got there just then, or she was hiding for a while and you didn't notice her." There was a teasing tone in his voice, like he was waiting for an interesting reaction in a plaything. "Or maybe you didn't want to notice?"
Genkishi almost doubled over at this.
"My lord, I would never betray you. I am your loyal servant." The black haired man bowed deeply before his master.
"Well, I always wondered. You call yourself a Phantom Cavaliere, so maybe you just wanted to change your role? Did you wish to be that child's knight in shining armour? Oh, don't tell me you have some paternal feelings for the girl, or maybe something else?" The amusement basically dripped from Byakurans voice, but Genkishi couldn't feel anything but a sort of mortifed disbelief, mixed with shock and confusion.
He had absolutely no idea what he was supposed to say in such a situation.
"Master Byakuran... I could never... not now or in any future..."
Byakuran paused, looking like he was hearing an amusing joke that only he understood. Then he chuckled and turned sidewards before moving out of the screen for a few moments. When he returned, he was visibly chewing on something.
"Now don't look like that, I was only playing around a bit. You are way too serious Genkishi, it is about time that you learn how to take a joke."
Genkishi couldn't help the short sigh that escaped his mouth. He had thought that over the years he had gotten used to Byakurans antics. It seemed he was wrong.
"Thank you my lord, I will move out to capture Yuni and bring her to you in no time."
At this Byakuran leaned back in a chair that couldn't be seen through the hologram.
"Well, before that, tell me the location of the girl so I can send some support in case she has further help. And do be careful, the last time you lost rather badly to that woman. And I doubt she left the last bearer of a pacifier alone."
Genkishi bowed his head again, even if it frustrated him to no end that his Lord didn't trust him to deal with anything that he met on his own.
"Of course my lord, as you wish."
*Scene Break*
"Honestly, Genkishi gets flustered so easily. What was he expecting me to do if he acts like that?" The leader of the Gesso family laughed before popping a marshmallow into his mouth and chewing in delight.
"Ah... am I bothering you sir?"
Byakuran turned to the door to his office and saw a young man with deep black hair.
"No no, don't worry Leo. Is anything going on? Oh wait; it is time for the weekly status report, right?" The man nodded, looking slightly nervous in front of Byakuran who just chuckled in an amused tone.
"So how are things going? Is there anyone that is still bothering us that I should know about?"
Leonardo Lippi paused before taking a few papers out of a briefcase he was carrying with him.
"The operations in England are more or less complete. The Tomaso family is done for. With the exception of a few scattered groups, we have taken control of the entire area. The tenth boss of the family has gone missing after the last attack and is presumed dead." He paused while looking through the paper. "With this, western Europe is mostly under our control. There isn't much that can resist us anymore. As for the east, China is still rather stubborn, but I think we will gain control of that area quite soon too."
Byakuran nodded. "China? Ah, the students of the Storm Arcobaleno. They are quite troublesome. But I am curious, how is the conflict with the Cavalone going?"
"Ahem, they are steadily losing ground sir. We think they may start a retreat sometime soon, but we cannot be sure.... though I believe the Vongola may be more of a problem..."
At this Byakuran paused in his attempt at eating his own weight in sweets. "Oh, the Vongola aren't falling apart yet? Has little Xanxus actually managed to unite them under himself?" His boss seemed to be genuinely amused at that notion for some reason, so much that Lippi wasn't sure if he was happy about this event or just screwing with him.
"Ahem, no sir. Xanxus is currently gathering power around the Varia bases and we haven't managed to get much more information.... someone else seems to have taken command of the main forces of the Vongola."
With these words, Leonardo had gained the full interest of Byakuran Gesso, something that would have scared many a man.
"Are you saying.... that the Vongola have somehow found a new leader?" Byakuran paused, seemingly in thought at this revelation. "I could of course be wrong, but I don't think Decimo had any children in the right age to take over, right?" Well, they would probably make an exception with a teenager given the situation. Even a child would probably work as a figurehead, but he hadn't expected the Vongola to do that.
He was also quite sure that Vongola Decimo didn't actually have children, though of course he couldn't be absolutely certain. Even with his unique... abilities, there was always a small amount of uncertainty since he lacked all data necessary to deduct things for sure. There had been rumours going through the land about him having a thing with this or that lady for years too. The rumour mill loved to tie him together with any female that had so much as talked with to him within the last years. That is, at least they had until his death. Now they were busy with other things.
"Who is leading them?" Leonardo looked very nervous at the question but answered in a surprisingly calm tone.
"We haven't gotten any clear information yet, but we don't think it is an heir of the tenth. They are doing a good job at leading everyone though. And also at keeping our informants in the dark for the most part. One of our spies did manage to get a look at an emblem that he said belonged to the one who took over for Sawada Tsunayoshi. We are currently researching, but haven't found anyone of note using this sign."
At his boss's wink, Leonardo took the small photography and handed it to Byakuran. The white-haired man looked at the symbol and tilted his head.
"Hmmmm... It doesn't ring a bell for me. Well, if they find out anything, give me a call. Is there anything else you wanted to tell me?" He handed the photography back to his assistant and turned back to the pile of sweets that was sitting on his desk.
"Ah no sir, that was everything. Thank you for your time. If anything comes up, I will be sure to inform you."
As the man hurried out of his office, Byakuran couldn't help but chuckle again. It was always lively with Lippi around, that man was really amusing. Still, it was a little curious that someone would take control of the Vongola forces. Not impossible, there were a few people who could pull it off, but this one seemed to have come from nowhere.
"Hmmmmm... an eight pointed star? I feel like that should tell me something." Byakuran scratched his head with his intact arm and then picked up another marshmallow to pop into his mouth.
"Meh, I will find out sooner or later anyway. And a little surprise once in a while is also fun."
It was a dark room in a closed-of room within an empty apartment. He had made sure that no one knew that he was here. The people who had lived in this place had been possessed of a sudden urge to go journeying through the wilderness of Japan. In addition, they had been so kind as to let him live here in the meantime. Well, at least that was what happened after he had talked with them for a bit. The neighbours had also suddenly lost all interest in the area, leaving for trips quite often and they never noticed his presence at all.
To think that he was forced to use his abilities for something like this....
The man with the black hair was bowing in front of a strange disk. The item began to shine with a bright light and a few moments later a hologram appeared. It was of a man with white and spiky hair. His eyes were of a deep purple and below his left eye was a simple tattoo of the same colour as them.
Genkishi did not know what to think as he looked upon the face of his god. Under different circumstances, he may have been happy to see his lord and master. But he knew.... he had lost the favour of Lord Byakuran.
"Genkishi-kun, oh Genkishi-kun, what am I supposed to do with you?"
The man smiled a strange smile while holding his chin with one hand. There was a spark of something in his eyes. It looked almost like he truly believed that everything around him only existed to amuse him.
"My Lord, I apologize deeply for my mistakes in the past, but my agents have followed the Sky Arcobaleno and I am going to capture her as soon as I reach the location."
The holography of the white-haired man chuckled and looked at the man in black with a smile that refused to lose any of its cheerfulness.
"Oh, so you have finally found her? After she managed to flee to Japan because you weren't able to kill her little family? And then you didn't even manage to stop them from getting away."
Genkishi was certain that he had never felt such humiliation as on that day, when that girl had decided to run away. He had no clue why she had changed her plans. She had declared that she would talk with Byakuran in a private Meeting to avoid further conflict between their families. His lord hadn't been happy for his failure in killing all these fools, but he had been forgiven for his failure, especially after he heard that she would come to see him the next day.
Then everything had fallen apart. The girl had stepped out of the house ready to g to the meeting. Next thing he knew, she was just standing in front of the car for a whole minute while spacing out. And then, without giving any explanation, she had declared that they would flee from Italy and take everything worthwhile with them. It was still beyond him why she would do something so ridiculously stupid. The child was young, but not naïve. Not in the sense that she didn't know the dangers she was creating. No, she knew what she was doing and did it anyway. She had to know that Byakuran wouldn't allow them to leave without a fight, and also, she knew that he was a traitor.
She had been the first person he knew that had seen through his illusions with such ease. Yuni had known that he was a traitor, that he would try to stop them and yet.... she had still looked at him with these eyes. Eyes filled with a sadness and resignation that made his insides boil with a mix of emotions he couldn't understand.
He hadn't fallen to these eyes a second time though. His blade cut true and he had told her clearly that either she would have to give up, or everyone she cared about would die. The only one among them that had a chance against him was Gamma, and that man still wasn't enough to win.
"Oh, I can see the look in your eyes. Are you remembering what happened?" The amusements never left his master's eyes, but he could feel the slight tenseness in his voice. Genkishi had learned how to read Byakuran better than most people, and he knew when his God was unsatisfied.
"I always wondered how that could have happened. That woman appeared from nowhere by your own words, with you not noticing until she interfered in the fight. That means she either got there just then, or she was hiding for a while and you didn't notice her." There was a teasing tone in his voice, like he was waiting for an interesting reaction in a plaything. "Or maybe you didn't want to notice?"
Genkishi almost doubled over at this.
"My lord, I would never betray you. I am your loyal servant." The black haired man bowed deeply before his master.
"Well, I always wondered. You call yourself a Phantom Cavaliere, so maybe you just wanted to change your role? Did you wish to be that child's knight in shining armour? Oh, don't tell me you have some paternal feelings for the girl, or maybe something else?" The amusement basically dripped from Byakurans voice, but Genkishi couldn't feel anything but a sort of mortifed disbelief, mixed with shock and confusion.
He had absolutely no idea what he was supposed to say in such a situation.
"Master Byakuran... I could never... not now or in any future..."
Byakuran paused, looking like he was hearing an amusing joke that only he understood. Then he chuckled and turned sidewards before moving out of the screen for a few moments. When he returned, he was visibly chewing on something.
"Now don't look like that, I was only playing around a bit. You are way too serious Genkishi, it is about time that you learn how to take a joke."
Genkishi couldn't help the short sigh that escaped his mouth. He had thought that over the years he had gotten used to Byakurans antics. It seemed he was wrong.
"Thank you my lord, I will move out to capture Yuni and bring her to you in no time."
At this Byakuran leaned back in a chair that couldn't be seen through the hologram.
"Well, before that, tell me the location of the girl so I can send some support in case she has further help. And do be careful, the last time you lost rather badly to that woman. And I doubt she left the last bearer of a pacifier alone."
Genkishi bowed his head again, even if it frustrated him to no end that his Lord didn't trust him to deal with anything that he met on his own.
"Of course my lord, as you wish."
*Scene Break*
"Honestly, Genkishi gets flustered so easily. What was he expecting me to do if he acts like that?" The leader of the Gesso family laughed before popping a marshmallow into his mouth and chewing in delight.
"Ah... am I bothering you sir?"
Byakuran turned to the door to his office and saw a young man with deep black hair.
"No no, don't worry Leo. Is anything going on? Oh wait; it is time for the weekly status report, right?" The man nodded, looking slightly nervous in front of Byakuran who just chuckled in an amused tone.
"So how are things going? Is there anyone that is still bothering us that I should know about?"
Leonardo Lippi paused before taking a few papers out of a briefcase he was carrying with him.
"The operations in England are more or less complete. The Tomaso family is done for. With the exception of a few scattered groups, we have taken control of the entire area. The tenth boss of the family has gone missing after the last attack and is presumed dead." He paused while looking through the paper. "With this, western Europe is mostly under our control. There isn't much that can resist us anymore. As for the east, China is still rather stubborn, but I think we will gain control of that area quite soon too."
Byakuran nodded. "China? Ah, the students of the Storm Arcobaleno. They are quite troublesome. But I am curious, how is the conflict with the Cavalone going?"
"Ahem, they are steadily losing ground sir. We think they may start a retreat sometime soon, but we cannot be sure.... though I believe the Vongola may be more of a problem..."
At this Byakuran paused in his attempt at eating his own weight in sweets. "Oh, the Vongola aren't falling apart yet? Has little Xanxus actually managed to unite them under himself?" His boss seemed to be genuinely amused at that notion for some reason, so much that Lippi wasn't sure if he was happy about this event or just screwing with him.
"Ahem, no sir. Xanxus is currently gathering power around the Varia bases and we haven't managed to get much more information.... someone else seems to have taken command of the main forces of the Vongola."
With these words, Leonardo had gained the full interest of Byakuran Gesso, something that would have scared many a man.
"Are you saying.... that the Vongola have somehow found a new leader?" Byakuran paused, seemingly in thought at this revelation. "I could of course be wrong, but I don't think Decimo had any children in the right age to take over, right?" Well, they would probably make an exception with a teenager given the situation. Even a child would probably work as a figurehead, but he hadn't expected the Vongola to do that.
He was also quite sure that Vongola Decimo didn't actually have children, though of course he couldn't be absolutely certain. Even with his unique... abilities, there was always a small amount of uncertainty since he lacked all data necessary to deduct things for sure. There had been rumours going through the land about him having a thing with this or that lady for years too. The rumour mill loved to tie him together with any female that had so much as talked with to him within the last years. That is, at least they had until his death. Now they were busy with other things.
"Who is leading them?" Leonardo looked very nervous at the question but answered in a surprisingly calm tone.
"We haven't gotten any clear information yet, but we don't think it is an heir of the tenth. They are doing a good job at leading everyone though. And also at keeping our informants in the dark for the most part. One of our spies did manage to get a look at an emblem that he said belonged to the one who took over for Sawada Tsunayoshi. We are currently researching, but haven't found anyone of note using this sign."
At his boss's wink, Leonardo took the small photography and handed it to Byakuran. The white-haired man looked at the symbol and tilted his head.
"Hmmmm... It doesn't ring a bell for me. Well, if they find out anything, give me a call. Is there anything else you wanted to tell me?" He handed the photography back to his assistant and turned back to the pile of sweets that was sitting on his desk.
"Ah no sir, that was everything. Thank you for your time. If anything comes up, I will be sure to inform you."
As the man hurried out of his office, Byakuran couldn't help but chuckle again. It was always lively with Lippi around, that man was really amusing. Still, it was a little curious that someone would take control of the Vongola forces. Not impossible, there were a few people who could pull it off, but this one seemed to have come from nowhere.
"Hmmmmm... an eight pointed star? I feel like that should tell me something." Byakuran scratched his head with his intact arm and then picked up another marshmallow to pop into his mouth.
"Meh, I will find out sooner or later anyway. And a little surprise once in a while is also fun."