99. Perception

Reborn

Tsuna and his Guardians were solemnly led to the back room for some rest as they waited for Talbot to complete the rings.

The situation appalled everyone, and the only way to describe the state of the Vongola was 'chaos'. Reborn liked the word a lot-- but not very much when he was the one caught up in it.

"Reborn, this may seem like a time very unsuitable for this question--" Nono brought up hesitantly, "But that boy-- Rei-kun, was he?" he thought back to the commotion earlier on, where the boy had stabbed himself in the arm.  Was there more reason you reached out to him?"

At this point they ceased moving around. Nono excused his guards, and the two of them, in a corner of the room, spoke hushed. 

"At first, he seemed useful." Reborn admitted, but only at first. "At this point, his real role in the family would only be realized in the future, where we foresee him becoming a part of the Varia."

This made the both of them hesitant. 

"Is he worth the time and effort spent on him?" Nono cringed, realizing how cruel this question was, "Or has he been.. a burden?"

"The answer to that question is, regretfully, still far off and out," Reborn could only say sourly. With a sigh, he lifted his head again. "But I believe there is something much more to his potential."

"Something more?"

The next second, a sharp ringtone sounded sharply. Heads spun towards on Kusakabe Tetsuya on the other end of the hall. Despite the attention, he picked up the call with a panicked expression, speaking worriedly--

"Hello? Yes, this is Kusakabe, who left the hospital a while ago... Huh?"

A hand shot up to his mouth in horror at what he heard next-- eyes widened, mortified-- This brought a heavy air of concern to the other occupants of the room.

Curiousity taking the best of him, Reborn and Nono stepped toward Kusakabe, intending to question the man after the call--

But as the call hung up, Kusakabe barged into the room Tsuna was in.

"Rei-san..." he didn't waste a moment, "Rei-san's gone missing from his hospital room."

-

Tsuna

"What?!" Tsuna and Ryohei snapped at the same time.

"Why, when, how??" Tsuna demanded, unable to compose himself as he was mentally frustrated with everything that was currently going on.

Kusakabe devastatingly clenched his fists, frustrated as well-- "Apparently, he was last seen going out with a red-haired boy... and a tall girl wearing a gakuran." 

The Shimon took him too, that answer struck everyone hard.

Dropping onto the sofa, Tsuna curled up, holding is head despairingly. 

What now? Yamamoto, Chrome, and now, Rei?

Forcefully calming himself, struggling to compose himself, Ryohei put an assuring hand on Tsuna's shoulder. He couldn't force out a smile, but Tsuna knew what he was trying to say.

Now, he has to be strong. To get back up, and save them as soon as possible.

He can't be whining and crying now, no matter how hard it is to hold back.

-

Gokudera

Soon after, Gokudera excused himself from the room. ON the excuse of finding a restroom, he wandered. Finding a lonely corridor, he stopped to think.

Fists gripped tight and brows furrowed in anger-- he punched the wall hard-- but not hard enough. 

Damn it, Damnit, DAMMIT! he yelled at himself, god fucking dammit!

He had been entirely useless. As everyone was crushed by gravity and even his Boss was rendered powerless, he, the right hand man, did naught but be a burden.

If anything, his pride and self-confidence suffered the worst blow that time.

"And that Green," he spat under his breath, "Just had to go and get freakin' nabbed, NOW of all times! Doesn't he know a single thing about how the Tenth is feeling right now--"

Taking a deep breath in, he closed his eyes.

He breathed out slowly.

Stepping out of the hallways, back into the hall, his expressions were mellowed once again to the slightly irritated, permanent scowl of his. He collected his emotions and swallowed them back down.

At least for now-- he has to be composed for the Tenth.

-

Drew

"Well, then," Drew smiled, "It seems my left hand is injured, and I think my ankle's not in its best condition either, so I hope you'll excuse me now..."

One step forward-- she lowered his body, and zoomed right past the three Shimon Guardians. Spinning into the corridor, she boosted off the next wall, covered her head, curled up small, and crashed right through the window.

They were on the first floor, so landing was not in any form dangerous.

Standing up, she turned back to the room. Catching sight of the Shimons' bewildered faces, she grinned cheekily. "Adieu, amigo. Merci, Julie," she joked, "But I don't wanna die again."

And thus, Ninomiya Rei ran.

Being one-handed was harder to cope with than she thought. It wasn't a sif she could feel pain from Rei's body-- but the wound inflicted was not minor, and bad rehabilitation could incur infections or lasting nerve issues.

Therefore she ran, hoping her experience in parkour could bring them through a little easier.

What about her Night Flames, you ask?

Well do you fuckin' think it's so easy to make them materialize? 

For the first half an hour she tried, desperately, bringing up her resolve as best as she could, as intensively as she could muster-- but no, the flame wasn't coming up.

Think back to the anime. What was wrong here? Why couldn't she bring up the fire of resolution? She knew she had the resolve, she was absolutely certain she did.

So why wasn't it lighting up?

Why, why, Why?

In her explosive frustration, she tripped over a tree root and fell forward. Picking herself right back up, she threw a leg before the other and continued to run.

She would get lost soon, but it didn't matter.

-

Irie

After delivering a parcel to the Sawada household, Irie decided his role now was to simply go home and wish for the best. 

"Shou-chan!"

A sudden small figure crashing into his back, Irie was surprised, but didn't fall. 

"Sui-chan?" he knew who it was before he called it out. 

The black-haired girl parted from the sudden glomp, blue eyes narrowed and mouth in a pout as she gave a slight nod. 

Forcing out an awkward smile, Irie tried a conversation. "It's... been a while. What a coincidence."

"...It's not a coincidence," she mumbled, "I waited here."

...Eh?

"Uhm, okay?" Irie found it strange, "But how did you know I'd come by this way today?"

"Shou-chan..." Sui spoke up-- and that was when Irie noticed those bags circling the under of Sui's eyes-- "Can you keep a secret?"

What happened?

"Last night," she started, speaking slowly, "I read the story." 

-

Yuuichirou

You might be thinking, where the hell has this idiot been this whole time? Well, the answer matters not.

Somewhere in Italy, near the dead of the night-- Yuu clutches his arm, a hand pressing down hard on a open cut and hoping that would miraculously stop the bleeding so he'd not leave a trail-- ducking behind boxes of an alley-- he prayed for the best.

Breathing out only after he lost his chasers, he loosened his stiff shoulders and spent another moment resting and composing himself.

Emerging from behind the crevice, he continued down the alley.

He continued for nearly a minute before he drew back. Abruptly stopping in his tracks, he came to a horrifying realization that the alley was way too dark to be in a town. The darkness before him weren't merely shadows in the dark-- where had the streetlights gone?

He swore as he heard a footstep.

Five men, tall, cloaked, wrapped head to toe in thick, white bandages-- the Vindice stepped out and made themselves known.

Hissing in hostility, Yuu knew he had no escape.

"Ninomiya Yuuichirou, I presume?" the one in the middle asked, his voice low, and interrogative.

Acting tough, Yuu smirked. "I'm afraid you have the wrong person," he lied. 

Never without a disguise, Yuuichirou always wore glasses, a wig, contacts, and ageing makeup before he was Yuu.

Not that the Vindice would be fooled by it, though. 

"I will assume you understand your situation," and they understood his lie as a joke. Unfazed, they resumed business mode, "I would like to ask you about your son, Ninomiya Rei."

"...What?!" Yuu couldn't help the exaggerated reaction, "Bloody hell,what are you people planning to do with my-" they're not here to arrest me for breaking Omerta? 

"For example," they dismissed the question once again, going at their own pace as if they were in a rush, "Are you sure he's really your son?"

His world froze over-- and in the next instant he saw red.

Yuu, ignoring is bloody arm, took one fierce step forward, reached up, dragged the first Vindice by the collar, and growled.

"WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU IMPLYING?" he yelled, his tone an angered one he has never used, his eyes burning with pure malice and his face warping in anger and hatred and absolute exasperation--

"Simply," the Vindice did not faze, "That your son may not be truly, yours. Biologically, perhaps, he may have matching markers-- but there is something in him you don't recognize. Another being, another consciousness-- something even we do not comprehend."

"Are you saying he's a monster?" Yuu was infuriated, "Like you guys?"

That seemed to make the Vindice go silent.

"Like us, the Vindice." the Vindice spoke up, his tone as stoic and monotone as ever before-- "That may be much truer than you want to believe in."