"He who does not trust enough, will not be trusted." – Lao Tzu

Tsuna had lost all hope of questioning Henrik for what he's done. The man had signed his death wish the moment he laid a hand on him, and Tsuna doesn't find himself pitying the sack of shit. In fact, he's only sorry that he's not the one maiming him.

Fon moves first, splaying his large red wings to their full height, which brush against the high ceilings. He easily crushes Henrik's arms with sickening snaps, rendering him immobile, before Bermuda, an intimidating black mass, holds the man up with his chains. Screaming, Henrik gapes in horror when Skull steps forward, his bull cranium covering his head.

"I'll let you in on a little secret," the demon says, stabbing through Henrik's stomach with his hand. A chain muffles Henrik's screams when Skull wrenches his guts out. Blood and intestines spill onto the floor with a sickening squelch. Tsuna vaguely wonders how long it'll take until someone walks in. Skull grins. "The liver always tastes best."

Flicking her white talon, Lal Mirch freezes one of Henrik's legs with glistening ice and shatters it with a harsh kick, making him shriek again. Her red eyes start to glow. "Here. Let me help." She raises a hand, blue veins throbbing underneath her pale skin, before ice starts forming around Henrik's bleeding stub. He widens his eyes and wriggles uselessly against his binds, whimpering when they tighten around his limp arms.

Tsuna looks on impassively when Colonnello grips Henrik's shoulder with one of his claws and tears his arm with the other. "You should've considered getting more meat on your bones," the blond harpy says, crunching on the fingers like candy.

Viper moves gracefully in wisps of black smoke and fluttering robes, slinking behind Henrik like curling silk. They grab ahold of his ashen face with scaly hands adorned with a myriad of rings. "I don't think this is enough penance," they say, licking a splatter of blood from Henrik's cheek with their long, forked tongue.

Fangs protrude from their mouth before they bite the man's neck and disappear from sight in a whorl. Henrik lets out a choked gasp and his eyes roll back to his head. Lightning crackles around Verde's hand before he strikes a nerve behind Henrik's neck, making the man jolt and stay conscious. "Show some more resistance, human," Verde says, his four spider-like eyes looking down in boredom. Calmly, he impales Henrik's head with his black claws, ignoring the man's muffled sobs. "Don't you want to live?"

Tsuna wants to say something, more along the lines of "stop being dramatic fucks", but the drug is still running through his system and he can barely feel his limbs. Ignoring Henrik's screams, Tsuna looks down at his bound hands, almost nodding off. His right knuckles are scratched up and bruised from punching the wall earlier. His fingers can't even twitch. Willing himself to move feels like pushing against a mountain. Nothing is going his way.

Henrik continues screaming, giving Tsuna some time to think. The others are usually quicker with their kills but not with this one. A shadow slowly looms over him, carrying the faint scent of ashes and something bitter Tsuna can never name. He doesn't have to look up to know who it is. The black wing-tipped shoes are enough. It confirms another thing: Tsuna won't have enough energy to seal them all back because this one has a brain. His dry comment on human dressage never leaves his throat.

"What did I tell you?" Reborn says, tilting Tsuna's chin up with a black hand. His talons scrape Tsuna's skin, and his rough scales prickle his neck. "The amount of trouble you get into warrants at least one of our presence." There's a soft hiss in his voice when he drags out his s's. He doesn't blink at Tsuna's feeble glare. "You might have holed yourself up in your little abode, but here you are." Reborn leans down closer, his golden eyes bleeding black. The sharp barbs on his head recede to spiky human hair. "You're hopeless."

Tsuna can't muster any protest when Reborn devours his mouth in a searing kiss. The demon's long tongue easily slips through his pliant lips, thick and hot. Narrowing his eyes, Tsuna can only let Reborn do what he wants—for now. Saliva dribbles down his mouth and his body tingles when Reborn kisses him deeper; the other's tongue swipes possessively over Tsuna's, where his Bond Mark is. Reborn's scorching Sun Flames spread across his veins, getting rid of the drug from his system, but the burn is almost…

When Reborn finally pulls away, Tsuna tries hard to maintain a calm façade, panting slightly to catch his breath. He glares at the demon, who just licks his lips. "Take them off," Tsuna says when his voice returns. He sounds hoarse, but ignores it in favor of looking down at the straps over his wrists and ankles. His knuckles are also healed, though he isn't back to shape completely. Reborn isn't that stupid, and Tsuna's going to have to play his cards right.

Reborn hums to himself while trailing a talon across Tsuna's cheek. "You look fitting like this."

Grinding his teeth, Tsuna internally cringes when he lets out a small whine, trying to keep it pathetic more than frustration. Henrik's screams had long faded. "Reborn," he says, struggling against the binds, "shut up." He looks up and exhales shakily. The straps sting his skin. "Just…take them off…"

Something dark flickers across Reborn's eyes and his lizard-like tail slowly curls around Tsuna's ankle. It feels dry and scaly and impossibly hot. Tsuna wants to strangle Reborn for taking so long, but restrains himself when the straps are cut. Slowly, he raises his numb arms and massages his wrists, which are branded with red marks. A long river of Henrik's blood flows down the tiled floor, staining the crevices scarlet.

Tsuna stands, grateful that the asshole at least didn't take his shoes, and steps off the chair. His legs aren't shaky, but he stumbles anyways from sitting too long. Reborn easily grabs ahold of his waist, keeping him upright. Inhaling sharply, Tsuna slowly clutches onto the demon's suit as he regains some sensation in his legs. Even though he can't feel the blood walking across it, a shiver crawls up his spine. Too much red, he thinks, tightening his grip on Reborn. Too much fucking red…

"Shit," slips out of Tsuna before he can think much of it. He purses his lips when Reborn makes him walk across the blood, their steps making little sloshes. Reborn's tail is still wrapped around his ankle and Tsuna refuses to acknowledge it as any kind of comfort. He isn't weak.

Reborn traces the dark bags underneath Tsuna's eyes in a curious fashion, though the amused smile on his lips says otherwise. "What keeps you up at night now, Tsuna?" He lowers his voice to a croon. "Do your dreams bleed red? Do you see him?"

Tsuna glares at him. "The only red I see in my dreams is your own fucking blood."

"You had your fun, Reborn," Colonnello says, flying over. His bare chest is slick with blood. When he grins, his sharp teeth are red. "Here, Tsuna." He holds out a still human heart, the dark blue feathers over his forearms sticky with gore.

Tsuna stares at it. Verde had told him long ago that a demon sharing the heart of their prey with another is a sign of honor and love, as disgusting as that sounds. Accepting it means acknowledging their strength and affection. Rejecting it usually doesn't end well for both parties. Viper had done it once when they captured a mugger who stole Tsuna's wallet. They nearly destroyed the whole block when Tsuna refused.

"The meat isn't worth it," Viper hisses.

"Quite," Fon says with a smile, his slit red pupils dilating.

Tsuna ignores Reborn stiffening under his touch when he lets go of the demon's suit. His tails remains around his ankle. Taking slow and steady steps, Tsuna stops in front of Colonnello. He almost smiles when everyone visibly tenses. No one else can get them so riled. It's a different sort of power Tsuna has over them, a dangerous one. They're not even tense for his answer.

"It's going to get cold, idiot," Tsuna mutters, his voice still hoarse. He reaches out to slide his hand underneath Colonnello's, a disgustingly intimate gesture, and grimaces when he feels the hot blood and the demon's sharp talons. "Just eat it." He shoves Colonnello's hand against the other's lips. "I don't like you enough to become a cannibal."

Colonnello's grin stretches across his face, revealing all of his sharp, bloody teeth. Tsuna openly cringes when he swallows the heart whole. There's only so much repulsive shit Tsuna can tolerate, but to these demons, there are no boundaries. "Fucking hell," he mutters, pushing past a proud Colonnello.

"I'm taking that as a yes, Tsuna," Colonnello croons, hugging Tsuna from behind and ignoring everyone's warning snarls.

Clicking his tongue, Tsuna shoves him off. "Are you fucking kidding me?" He looks down at the blood smeared all over his chest with a sneer. "Kill me first before you pull this shit."

"Why would I kill you?" Colonnello asks as if the very thought horrified him. The disturbingly playful lilt in his voice indicates otherwise.

Skull glares at him, his eyes black. Rivulets of blood drip from his mouth. "It doesn't count if he doesn't eat it, imbecile."

Colonnello isn't miffed. If anything, Skull's jeer makes him flare his wings to their full height. They aren't as large as Fon's but are still impressive with their blue gradient hue; the tips are inky black like they're drenched in sludge. "I've gone farther than any of you had. That counts as a victory in my book."

"Since when did you start reading books?" Skull says innocently. "Do you have any in your realm?"

Colonnello's brow twitches. "You're asking to be killed, aren't you?"

"It doesn't mean anything," Tsuna rasps out, stumbling in his step. Of course, Reborn is rarely thorough with healing. The smug bastard likes it when others suffer, friends and foes. This is why humans will never understand demons. They're other, something else that defies their comprehension—and humans are the only ones foolish enough to try to tame them. When he meets Reborn's intense gaze, the demon smirks knowingly.

Tsuna flinches when Lal Mirch drapes herself over his shoulders while Skull and Colonnello bicker in the background. Her skin is so cold it burns. Tsuna's breath hitches when she drags a hand across his cheek, stroking it delicately with her claws. His limbs slowly turn numb.

"I forgot how pretty red looks on you, Tsuna," she murmurs, tightening her grip around his chest. Tsuna exhales unsteadily, releasing a puff of air. "But white is so much better." She growls. "That human, Kyoko was it? What are you going to get when you help her? She can't offer you anything I can. She barely even talked to you in the academy. She's just using you."

"A—And you're doing me a favor now?" Tsuna says through chattering teeth. He grinds them together, cursing at his stutter, as shivers wracks through his body. It's becoming so cold he can barely breathe. Trembling, he manages to grip Lal Mirch's waist behind him and rasp out, "I don't have plans on dying t—today though, so fuck off."

"Lal Mirch," a smooth, rumbling voice says through Tsuna's frosty haze, "perhaps consider letting Tsunayoshi go first and then speaking to him. He's a little blue around the edges."

Tsuna doesn't get away from Lal Mirch fast enough. Fon gently tugs him away from her embrace, and he leans in to soak up the demon's heat emanating from Fon in waves. It replaces the cold easily, melting it with such ferocity it leaves Tsuna dizzy. "Don't fucking touch me again," he says, clutching Fon's scaly red forearms. They prick sharply against his warming skin, but not enough to make him bleed. "Or even go near Kyoko-san. And you"—Tsuna shoves Fon away, regaining some strength in his limbs—"you're too fucking hot. Get the hell away from me."

Fon's creepily pleasant smile strains a bit. Searing red marks slowly spread across his bare chest underneath his black robes. "It seems you've grown ruder."

"And it's working perfectly." Tsuna steps over small lumps of Henrik's flesh on the floor. "Someone wasn't a big boy and didn't want to finish their fucking tendons." He kicks Henrik's half-eaten head to the side, imagining it to be one of the demon's instead.

Fon looks like he swallowed a dozen lemons. For a demon, he's a stickler for etiquette, though Tsuna had explained before that there's a difference between being polite and being a dick in the human world. It's a blurred line for Fon, but Tsuna doesn't care enough to address it more than once.

Skull leaves Colonnello to materialize in front of Tsuna in a whirl of smoke. A gleam shines in his eyes, pupils blown wide. "Oh, I'm sorry," he says with a grin. His canines are coated red. "He tasted bad, Daddy, so I had to leave some out. Will you forgive me?"

Tsuna doesn't miss a beat. "No, you're going to Hell. Besides, the real Daddy here is Viper." His lips barely twitch when Skull's jaw drops, and he pats the demon's cheek, restraining himself from outright slapping him. "USB and a jacket." He reaches out to the quiet cloaked figure expectantly and stares right where Viper's eyes are, which are covered by their hood. "Don't make me ask twice."

Briefly, he thinks that Viper won't make a move. They rarely go out of their way to do anything anyways. Sighing, Tsuna heads for Henrik's monitors and is grateful yet again that the scientist left the screen on. Maybe they should've spared a limb, he thinks idly, clicking on a file that says "Current Projects".

Something light drapes over his shoulders, and he can feel Viper's hands slowly spread across his chest through the cardigan's thin wool. "It's woven from the flesh of Cloud birds," Viper murmurs in Tsuna's ear. "Their skin is smoother than stones."

Tsuna's fingers linger against the cold rings when they brush to take the newly-formed USB from Viper's hand. "I never asked," he says, inserting it in a flash drive port.

"Hey!" Skull says. "Those were my birds! You never asked me!"

Viper doesn't raise their voice. "Consider it as extra payment for how irritating you are."

"What? That's not fair! I did everything right!"

"Is that a request to give you less than half the territory we initially bargained?"

Skull ignores Tsuna's piercing stare and scowls when Colonnello and Lal Mirch snicker. "No," he huffs, crossing his arms over his chest. "Tsuna, they're being mean to me."

"Tough," Tsuna says, dragging all of Henrik's files to his USB. A loading bar pops up on the blue screen. There's over a thousand documents and video to copy. He freezes when a ring appears in coils of fog around his right ring finger. It's a little gemstone with a yellow core and reddish-brown edges. "Viper… What the hell is this?"

"It's a pity to see your pretty fingers bare," Viper says, pressing even closer against Tsuna's back. He forgets how much of a leech they can be. How clingy they all can be, he notes when he sees them crowding around him. "Consider it a penance for when we parted."

Tsuna turns around then, his eyes narrowed. Old, simmering fury blazes inside him without warning. Torn limbs and shattered bones bloom like sun-starved petals in his mind. Red, so much red. "A penance?"

Skull rolls his eyes while he floats above them. "Here we go."

"Tsunayoshi," Bermuda says, appearing in vortex of hissing shadows, "do you still hold it against us?" Tsuna can't decipher his face. White bandages wrap around his body from head to toe with some chains that drag against the floor. He can't even see his eyes. Bermuda had always been the most difficult to read unless he's ballistic. "Why?"

The hard-pressed curiosity in that one word drives Tsuna nuts. Rather than lashing out, he takes a shaky breath and weakly pushes Bermuda aside, his fingertips burning from the black flames smoldering underneath the bindings. Bermuda's tattered cloak sways to an invisible wind and brushes against Tsuna's ankle.

"I'm not in the mood to argue," Tsuna says, massaging his temples. He needs a fucking smoke and some painkillers. "Just stay quiet."

"See?" Skull whines. "He's so mean."

"I see that," Fon says, his voice slightly strained.

Lal Mirch scoffs. "I like it. He grew a backbone." She licks her red-stained lips when Tsuna glares at her. "There's some bite to him now."

Colonnello grins crookedly. "He used to run away whenever we tried to get close to him." He leans down closer to Tsuna's face. "But he hasn't yet."

"Do you want me to bite you?" Tsuna hisses, pushing Colonnello away. "I've always wanted to tear off someone's throat with my teeth."

Skull hugs Tsuna from behind. "That's not fair!" Tsuna can sense the demon grinning without looking at him. "You can only do that to me."

Reborn saunters towards them and smacks Skull away with his tail. He lightly huffs when the demon yelps and dissolves into black smoke before he can hit the wall. "Pity," he says. "I was looking forward to another kill today."

Skull jeers at Reborn from the ceiling. "You didn't even touch that filth once."

"I have a particular palate."

"Tsunayoshi," Verde says, off to the side like always. Swirling black marks curve inward on his bare chest and face like tattoos and extend upwards as scaly armor from his body. He lightly taps the USB with a curved claw, leaving a small bloody drop on the device. "It's finished."

Keeping his face carefully blank, Tsuna raises his hand. "Give it to me."

He clicks his tongue when Colonnello needlessly interferes in Skull and Reborn's one-sided banter, if he can call it that. Lal Mirch almost punches Colonnello in the ribs but redirects it at the wall when the phone starts ringing. Its broken pieces clatter dully on the ground. Bermuda hovers on the sidelines but Tsuna can feel his eyes on him. All he sees is the demon's wrapped face; nothing looks back. When Verde hands Tsuna the USB, he reaches out for it blindly and brushes his fingers against Verde's wet claws. The demon stares at his hand thoughtfully while Tsuna pockets the small device in his jeans.

"None of you deserve the right to flaunt yourself at him anyways," Skull says, baring his canines.

Colonnello ruffles his wings and his eyes dilate, making his gray eyes look black. "I'm kind of glad you went there. Means I can kill you right here, right in front of him." Tsuna scowls when Colonnello rises in the air. "I can finally kill you."

Skull's form blurs in large plumes of smoke. "And yet here I am. Your attempts are pathetic."

Colonnello grins widely. "Oh, you're a thousand years too early to even get me to kneel."

Fon inhales deeply. "There's no need to quarrel."

The other two don't listen. They lunge at each other, but before they can even land a blow, Tsuna raises his already glowing hand and says, "Coerceo!" [Contain]

Skull and Colonnello snarl when a column of orange flames ensnare them in place. Some of their skins burn black when they try to break free, forcing them to retreat. The other Arcobaleno aren't spared either. Lal Mirch glowers at the crackling bars. "Tsuna," she says warningly, "what is this?"

"You know," Tsuna drawls, leaning against Henrik's desk, "I thought that you'd all at least give me a challenge. I guess seven years weren't enough to shape up." He feels his magic straining from keeping eight powerful demons contained with an intermediate suppression spell, especially with what he can access now, but he maintains a calm façade regardless. "You're all fucking pathetic."

Colonnello spits some black blood on the floor and bares his teeth. "I imagined our reunion to be a little more different, a little more, what's the word, heartfelt."

"Save it for someone who actually gives a shit," Tsuna says, glaring at him before looking towards Fon, who oozes red magic. "And you, for someone with a stick up his ass, you have no tact at all."

Fon's smile doesn't wane, though his body and eyes turn black as red flames flicker from the fissures on his skin. They wrap thinly around the bars of his cage and sizzle and burn, dying quickly against the pure magic. "You don't have to do this, Tsunayoshi," he says in that insufferable calm tone of his. "This is not how—"

"This is very much fucking required, thank you, Fon." The demon's magic starts to thicken against his cage, but Tsuna keeps it up. "You think you're so clever?" Tsuna walks past the demons without blinking at their growls or sparing them a glance. Blood squelches underneath his feet before he picks up Henrik's ceremonial knife. He feels the Sky magic thrum in quiet, steady pulses inside the white blade, but it's not enough for him to identify its caster. "I actually thought this was a decent plan for a second, but then you pissed me off and I can barely give a shit anymore. I hope you don't get your fucking territory, Skull, because fuck you."

Skull smiles sharply. "Is that an invitation?"

"I'm saving myself for someone who actually gives a shit about me. You know, a noble pursuit and all that." The air thickens considerably but Tsuna doesn't give in, even when his breaths came out shakier. He grips the knife in his hand tightly; his palms are clammy.

"There's nothing noble about leaving the ones you're already tied to," Bermuda growls, his chains slamming against the bars.

A large tremor wracks through Tsuna's right hand, forcing him to expel a little more magic on Bermuda's seal. He grits his teeth. "Save it, bastard," he chokes out.

"You can't keep us locked away forever," Reborn says, his hair bristling into pointy barbs. His inky eyes stare Tsuna down. "We're a part of you, always."

Tsuna removes the ring from his finger and tosses it on the ground. Viper's fangs elongate against their snarling lips. "No, you're not." He raises his hand and swipes downward just as a tiny beep comes from the laboratory's doors. "Obsigno." [Seal]

His body burns when the Arcobaleno vanish in a whirl of orange fire back to their Juras. Their sigils repair in his mind's eye, crackling into place. Coughing, Tsuna sways on his feet and almost falls over if a hand hadn't pushed against his chest, helping him upright. He almost regrets using so much of his magic all at once. "You're too smart for your own good," he mutters darkly.

Verde's face remains blank as always. "I know your ways. Although this was unconventional even for you. If Reborn had healed you to full capacity"—the lab's doors open then and two men in white coats step inside—"you wouldn't be so drained as you are. Was that worth the risk?"

Tsuna tilts his head, his eyes flickering towards the gaping assistants. "I'm giving myself points for fucking creativity there." He stands upright on unsteady feet. "The asshole isn't available right now. Sorry." He kicks Henrik's head towards them, making them inhale sharply and stumble back.

"It was creative, yes," Verde says nonchalantly, his hand resting on Tsuna's spine where his Bond Mark is. Another wave of nausea hits Tsuna's head like a ton of bricks. His other marks burn incessantly on his skin and he can feel the demons' agitation through their waning seals, until he doesn't. Verde's own stronger magic reinforces Tsuna's last-minute seals with a flourish. "And they were fools for falling for such a garish tactic."

Tsuna scoffs under his breath despite being relieved from straining his magic. "Garish. Fucking hell, just tell them to shut up for good measure and I might not kill you."

The assistants give one last look at Henrik's mess on the floor, then take off. "Code Red!" one of them screams. "Dr. Henrik is dead!"

Tsuna sighs. He wants to take a long shower, have a smoke and pretend that his life has some semblance of normalcy. "Verde, burn it down," he says, finding his phone amongst Henrik's files. "I have what I need."

Verde doesn't give any indication of surprise or agreement; his hand crackles with tiny sparks of lightning. "What about the other humans?" He catches Tsuna again when he stumbles. "Your condition leaves you vulnerable."

"I'll catch up. Just get them before they tell their bosses or somet—" Tsuna yelps when Verde easily scoops him up in his arms. "What the hell are you doing? Put me down!"

"This will make it easier for both of us," Verde says. "Stop acting like an infant. It's unbecoming of you."

Tsuna glares at him. "Fuck you."

Too caught up in his humiliating position, Tsuna barely processes Verde jumping through three floors until they're suddenly blocking a group of security guards and their summons. Tsuna bites his lip from the whiplash as the other demons whimper and cower in front of Verde. "Victims," he gasps out. "Where—"

He cringes when blood spatters across his face. His breaths come out haggard, and there's a ringing in his ears. "I need to know where they keep their victims," he hisses. "The summons they took."

Verde retracts his eight pointy limbs back to his side. They resemble spider legs with tiny little spikes that sever and cut viciously at his will. His jaw splits open crudely, revealing longer fangs that curve towards his lips. "I can sense where mine are," he says. "There are others with them, though I don't sense any distressed humans."

Tsuna furrows his brows. "Me neither." He tries hard not to look at sliced flesh and floating ashes, but the smell of blood and soot makes him dizzy. He glares at nothing when he turns his head slightly towards Verde's chest and inhales the demon's fresh scent. It reminds him of an incoming thunderstorm.

"Are you afraid, Tsunayoshi?" Verde asks without curiosity, as he walks across the corpses with long, steady strides.

Tsuna holds the dagger close to Verde's neck, the blade just barely grazing his skin. "No," he says. "I bet all of you knew about the Splinters long before this shitfest. Letting Skull free, leading Henrik to me, using this"—Tsuna digs the knife deeper but Verde's skin hardens instantly in defense—"to break some of your runes to get out."

"Assumptions won't get you anywhere. Flex that brain of yours a little harder." One of Verde's limbs punches through a door, making the metal screech when it crumples. The sound of whimpers and choked snarls echo loudly in the dark room. "While Skull isn't the brightest demon, he understands you better than most." Tsuna tries to twist away from Verde's arms, but inhales sharply when Verde's claws lengthen and dig into his skin, trapping him in place. "That was your own undoing, Tsunayoshi."

Four of Verde's limbs reach out with glowing sparks of green light, illuminating the room. Several cages are stacked on top of each other with demons of different affinities, snarling and growling at them, though once they see Verde, they're half-crazed minds still register him as the alpha in the room, forcing them to cower. Some of the demons are barely moving, having been separated for too long from their summoners. Tsuna doesn't think they'll make it.

"Henrik was an anomaly," Verde says, stepping in the center of the room. All four of his red eyes are trained on Tsuna with unnerving focus. "But we adapted accordingly. You were too drugged to notice but the others were able to deal some damage on your seals while the filth had his hands on you." When Tsuna tries to escape Verde's hold again, the demon's eyes turn pure black. "You're in no condition to be using your magic."

Tsuna clicks his tongue. "I know. Shit." He raises the dagger in his hand. "I'll use this. You…will have to help me."

"All you needed to do was ask."

"Shut up."

The captive demons yelp when a burst of green flames erupts from underneath Verde's feet. The Bond Mark on Tsuna's spine tingle from the pulsing magic; there's only warmth there. Tsuna takes a deep breath when Verde gently sets him down on the ground where sigils are being engraved at a rapid rate. Even now, Tsuna grudgingly admires the demon's intellect.

"You'll be okay," he says at the moaning demons. He quickly creates an absorption seal around the knife and feels the Sky magic seep through his veins. Grimacing from the strange sensation of another's magic in his core, he flexes his own and pours them like a layer over Verde's containment sigils. "This won't hurt you."

Distant shouts come from the hallways behind them but Tsuna doesn't stop. A sheen of sweat drips down his pinched face. The Rain and Storm magic in the knife war against him as he sucks the last of the Sky magic inside himself. One of Verde's appendages smacks the blade out of his hands, letting it clatter on the ground. "It won't do you any good if they mix in with your magic as well," Verde says.

Tsuna scowls at the glowing runes. "Did I fucking ask?" He tenses when Verde's magic tries to push deeper into his core. "Verde, where are we supposed to contain them?" Verde doesn't speak for a second, forcing Tsuna to look up. "Unless you want me to seal them in a temporary Jura."

That snaps Verde back to attention. He creates a small bead bracelet with a creation rune and drops it on the floor. "Here."

"What the hell?" someone yells behind them.

Tsuna ignores the shrill screams in favor of binding the bracelet to the sigils. "Obsigno." [Seal]

Torrents of green and orange fire surge from the cages and whirl towards the beads. Exhaling, Tsuna grabs and slip them over his wrist. The room fades to darkness again. A tiny beam of light comes from Tsuna's phone when he turns it on. It's 10:32 PM. Eight thin, creeping shadows loom over him like claws, dripping blood on the floor. Their plops echo softly in the silence.

The line barely rings once after he dials. "Tsuna, we just got your signal!" Iemitsu says as soon as he picks up. "Are you okay? Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine," Tsuna says, walking over to pick up the strewn knife. "You might want to get here soon before the police tracks my phone."

"You've been gone for nearly six hours and this is"—Iemitsu sighs in aggravation—"Okay, yeah, fine. We'll get there but don't you dare leave! I'll call an ambulance, my people."

"I'm burning it down. I have everything I need, so don't bother. And I'm not injured."

Iemitsu yells something in the background and after some shuffling returns to the phone. "Still, you're in one of Estraneo's hideout. There might be other victims there, human victims."

"No, it's just the stolen summons. Don't question it. My guts say so. I just need you to throw the police off my trail, our trail."

Iemitsu sighs again. "Alright, but stay there! ETA's 30 minutes. What else do you need?"

"A burger." Tsuna pauses. "And a shake. Vanilla."

"Jesus, you didn't fucking eat again, did you? How many times have I told you to—"

"Thank you." Tsuna then drops the phone and crushes it with his heel. He turns towards the exit, pursing his lips when he sees the pile of sliced up corpses at the doorway. "For fuck's sake."

He manages to walk out of the hideout with Verde trailing silently behind him. He doesn't blink when the small building erupts into green flames and burns to the ground. The smoke fades into the night sky just like the screams that wither into the dark harbor.

A/N This ain't dead, y'all (although Henrik really is). Ahaha…haha…ha… :'^)

But yeah, honestly speaking, this was supposed to be a one-shot and the last two chapters were originally supposed to be it and end with the Arco just coming out, lol. Though nico, my amazing beta, convinced me otherwise and this is still ongoing. :^D

Also I'm sorry if the Latin isn't right. I don't know Latin and Google was my only source. :'^(

So much love to my beta, nico, for helping me and tolerating my night owl tendencies~ (And LadyIDK for some ideas, hehe.)

Thank you so much for reading! I hope to see you again in the next chapter.

Have a lovely day~

Little Miss Bunny