Windshear Part [22/?]

Authors: Kagaya Chou and The Dream Whisperer
Characters/Pairings: Gokudera, Mukuro, Ryohei, Gamma, Genkishi, Byakuran, Yamamoto, Hibari, Tsuna, Reborn. Implied Mukuro/Byakuran and Ryohei/Gokudera. Eventual Yamamoto/Hibari.
Rating: PG-13
Words: 4706
Summary: As the fight against Genkishi draws out, bridges are burnt. Tsuna needs to gather his friends to face his enemies, but can he tell who's who?

With the most disconcerting sense of vertigo and déjà vu, Gokudera felt the ground crumble beneath his feet. Gravity went haywire as a non-lethal wave of Mist flame swept through the area. Gokudera's stomach did a flip-flop but he grit his teeth, green eyes narrowing.

"Mukuro," he hissed out, hands clenching tight at his sides.

Ryohei stumbled slightly, keeping his balance even as the ground disappeared from under him. He deliberately chose not to look down, taking another step forward and raising his fists. Sun flames flickered in his hands as he suddenly dove downwards, shoving against the 'empty air' and hitting something hard; something solid.

He grinned.

The flames burnt bright and heavy around them both, ripping away the illusions as easily as a sword's blade through paper. The Vongola had been far too used to Mukuro's illusions to fall into the same thing over and over again. Straightening as the ground appeared beneath him, indigo flames dying away in his peripheral vision, Ryohei moved into his usual position.

"That wasn't very extreme at all, Mukuro," he said, almost amused.

"Mukuro?" Gamma said, struck dumb for a moment. His eyes flickered between the Vongola guardians and Genkishi, suddenly unsure. "Wait, your Mist Guardian is involved in this too?"

Genkishi's eyes narrowed dangerously. Flicking a baleful gaze towards his own Mist ring, he wrapped a hand over the increasingly erratic flame that it emitted, two distinctly different shades of indigo writhing out like vines. The Vongola's Mist flame clung to his, like a parasite, and yet it felt... stronger. The flame grew stronger with the reinforcement. He spared a brief moment to raise an eyebrow, dubious, and then wiped the expression off his face as he refocused his attention upon his hesitant looking friend.

Gamma gritted his teeth and growled, taking an instinctive step back as he felt the air around him shiver. Then, he jumped backwards as spikes broke through the forest floor, threatening to pierce through his skin, but he wasn't one to be so easily defeated. Gathering Thunder flames in his hands, he grabbed hold of a tree branch and broke it off. The flames stripped off the bark, curling and weaving around it as Gamma drew it back and threw at Genkishi like a javelin.

With real illusions, Genkishi caught the sharpened branch in mid-air and spun it around, letting it gather momentum before casting it back at them. It burnt bright indigo in the air, and the air screamed as it cut through it.

Gokudera swore as the makeshift spear seemed to separate into a multitude of arrows, each still glowing brightly, shooting out to rain down on them faster than he could light his dynamites, let alone throwing them. He ducked for cover, only to be barrelled aside. When he opened his eyes again, he cringed at the sight of Ryohei above him, skewered by those sharpened branches.

His brain said that it couldn't be real, but the blood dripping onto him felt warm and terrifying.

There was a pause, then-

Ryohei shook his head rapidly, sending blood splattering everywhere around him from the wound on his forehead. The branch has grazed his skin there, nearly piercing through his skull. But he wasn't concerned about any of that, frowning down at Gokudera who was staring at him with an absolutely petrified look on his face.

"Hey, octopus head!" Ryohei shouted, lifting an arm from where it was supporting his weight to slap the other man hard across the face. He hated to do this, but they had no time. "I don't know what you're seeing, but it's not real, okay? It's fake to the limit!" He sat back and blinked away the blood that was threatening to fall into his eyes. "Now get up!"

"Then get off, lawn head," Gokudera bucked his hips. He shoved his opened palms at Ryohei's chest, partly to get up, and partly to verify the Sun guardian's words. Reassured that the man wasn't going to die soon, Gokudera shoved the concern aside and got to his feet.

Ryohei scrambled up immediately, his grin fading as he turned to face Genkishi again. Out of the corner of his eye, he checked for injuries on Gokudera's body, and when he found nothing, he breathed a small sigh of relief.

Standing by their side, Gamma could only shake his head. The Vongola was somewhat amusing, but he had more important things to take care of. Like Genkishi and his suddenly stronger Mist flames. Gamma's lips pressed into a line.

"I still haven't gotten a straight answer on why you're doing this," he said, almost genial.

Genkishi's eyes flickered with confusion, but he quickly smothered it with determination. "It's not so difficult a concept, Gamma. Byakuran will help the Giglionero become greater than it has ever been. Greater than the Vongola is now," he swept a sword towards the Vongola Sun and Storm.

"Greater? Bullshit," Gokudera cut in before Gamma could even think of a response. "Byakuran would just take your rings and use all of you like puppets before throwing you away. You're a fucking idiot if you believe him." He toyed with his Storm ring for a moment before his hands parted, red flames flaring up.

"No," Genkishi uttered in a low growl, turning towards Gokudera once more. "He won't."

***

Mukuro smiled bemusedly as he entertained himself with the Black Crusader plant. At first, it'd been boring; the plant was starting to wilt as if it had no fight in itself, as if Genkishi was only fighting out of blind loyalty to Byakuran, and didn't really want to face off with Gamma at all. Gokudera was a different story, however. Mukuro chuckled.

"How interesting..."

"What is, Mukuro-kun?" Byakuran asked, his fingers stopping on top of the keyboards of his laptop. He was smiling, eyes hidden behind the wide grin.

"Your Crusader, Byakuran-san." Mukuro looked towards him briefly, and back at the plant. "He is... so very enthralled with you, it makes me curious."

"He is," Byakuran nodded, standing up and walking over. He sat beside Mukuro on the chair, his hands caressing the leaves of the plant, tracing the waxy edges with the pad of his fingertips. "It took me quite some effort to win him over."

Mukuro tilted his head with a questioning hum, eyeing the leaves that Byakuran had told him not to touch. Perhaps it was yet another poison Byakuran was immune to. There seemed to be a lot of those.

"What did you have to do?"

Byakuran merely smiled at him. Reaching out with his other hand, he cupped Mukuro's cheek. "It'll be more fun if you try to find that out yourself, wouldn't it, Mukuro-kun?"

***

Gamma slumped back against a tree, his hands still smoking from the Thunder flames. He flexed his fingers, feeling the tips starting to turn numb and cold. His chest heaved, sweat dripping into his eyes. He had been fighting for too long, and he was starting to feel exhaustion creep up on him.

A little distance away, he could hear the crackle of wicks being lit and a deep, resounding boom. The ground rocked and leaves were dumped on his head from the explosion, but Gamma didn't lose his chance, immediately rushing forward, a ball of lightning in his hand aimed for Genkishi's chest.

For an instance, it seemed like the blow connected. A direct hit. But the body that he hit crumbled in a swirl of crisp leaves and Gamma felt his breath caught as his centre of gravity shifted. He saw Genkishi on his left, and on his right, mirror images, each with a raised sword in hand.

Then he couldn't see anything anymore, a solid weight slamming into him from the left causing him to go sprawling onto the floor. Gamma blinked rapidly, forcing his eyes open. He saw a flash of silver hair before light glinting off metal caught his attention and, in a flash, he rolled Gokudera out of the way before two long, black swords stabbed down to where they used to lay. Gamma gritted his teeth, punching the floor and sending wave upon wave of Thunder flames towards his once-comrade.

In his anger, it took a moment to register the fizz of lit fuses just over his shoulder. When Gamma tilted his head to look, Gokudera's hands were empty once more, having tossed two handfuls of dynamites towards Genkishi - sticks burning with both Storm and Thunder flame attributes. What-?

Gokudera blatantly ignored Gamma's confusion, eyes fixed on Genkishi a distance away. Throughout the battle he had been trying to draw out the other flames he knew he had, but it was too difficult without rings or any aids at all. Until now. He reached out and gripped onto Gamma's wrist, scooping up the stray bolts of Thunder flames and lighting the wicks of his dynamites with them, blending them with the core made of Storm flames before throwing them out toward his current enemy.

As the dynamites exploded, the gas solidified into sharp, bolt-like bullets. They burst apart like fireworks - but hotter, faster and far more dangerous. Genkishi's eyes widened and he swung his swords to intercept on reflex, only to hear the metal of his blades chipping, despite the Mist flame that took the brunt of the attack.

Ryohei gave a loud whoop of encouragement, and jogged over. "Way to go, octopussy!"

"Ch'," Gokudera said, spitting to the side, grinning to himself. The battle was far from over, however. He grabbed a few more sticks of dynamite and lit half of them with his Storm flames before throwing the rest towards Ryohei, knowing that the man would catch them with his reflexes. "Light them with your will. Hurry the hell up."

Gamma gaped as Sun guardian flung the freshly lit explosives right back towards the Vongola Storm, but Gokudera simply caught and redirected them. The Sun flames made the dynamite sticks torpedo towards Genkishi - no wait, they sped up and past him, to where he seemed to be heading!

***

Mukuro drew his hands back as if he had been burnt, and drew them close, hiding a smirk. "As expected of Hayato-kun," he lamented.

Byakuran picked up a charred leaf, tutting quietly. "My, my, what a pity." His fingers traced along the edge for the moment before crushing it, the crack echoing slightly in the silent room.

His eyes turned to Mukuro, and he smiled. "But my Crusader is a little tougher than that, hmm?"

Mukuro lowered his hands and smiled back with a demure nod before turning his attention back to the black lily.

***

Genkishi dove for cover behind a tree, leaning heavily on his shoulder against the sturdy trunk. As he caught his breath, he glared down at his Mist ring, at the dark tendrils of indigo flame ensnaring his own.

It was another test, he knew, another one of those opportunities Byakuran gave him to prove the strength of his will, because Mist users were unreliable, the man had once said. And now, for some reason or other, Byakuran had managed to convince the Vongola Mist guardian to 'help.' Byakuran trusts Rokudo that much. And I...

And I have yet to prove myself.

He clutched his hand tightly. At the back of his mind, the Hell ring was calling.

***

"Yamamoto Takeshi is alive," Hibari stated, sitting on the windowsill of one of the hospital's hallways, his cellphone pressed to his ear. He looked outwards, enjoying the view of the hospital's gardens and, at the very edge of his vision, the beginnings of the bustling streets of Rome. "That Byakuran had made his move. What will you do now, Sawada Tsunayoshi?"

Over the line, Tsuna sighed softly, gathering his wits about him. When he spoke, his voice was firm, as befitting the head of the Vongola family. "Byakuran can still argue otherwise. Gloxinia didn't belong to the Gesso famiglia when he tried to assassinate you. Genkishi, so long as Lady Uni will have him, belongs to the Giglionero, meaning Byakuran has yet to break our alliance.

"I need to know what you plan to do first, Hibari."

Hibari's lips curved up slightly. Now and then, Tsuna would remind him why he would even bother to listen to him, much less call and inform him of his activities. The Vongola Tenth was strong - not just in battle, but in all the ways that he needed to be. He might be a herbivore still with his compassion and affection and love, but he still had enough strength to be respected.

That was why Hibari replied, "I will bite him to death myself."

"Your chance will come," Tsuna closed his eyes. Much as he wished otherwise, his intuition told him that his words were true. "But Byakuran will not fight you again. He knows you're the stronger one now, in terms of physical strength. If you chose to go after him rashly, he'll hide behind mafia politics... and use your actions to bring war to us, the Vongola... and Namimori."

"If he chooses to bring war to Namimori, then I will crush him," Hibari stated blandly. It wasn't a threat - he had never been one for threats - but a promise that he would carry out. Byakuran had touched too much that belonged to him already - if he dared to go after Namimori, then Hibari would use every single bit of power he possessed - as the Vongola Cloud Guardian, as the Foundation's leader, as Hibari Kyouya - to annihilate the Gesso until not a drop of blood belonging to any member was left on this Earth.

"Tomorrow I will kill him. You have until then to get ready."

"You will do no such thing," the Tenth snapped back. "If you choose to take him on, you might be alone, but he will not. It won't be like last time, where everyone stood back to watch the two of you fight. You're overestimating yourself if you think you can take on an entire mafia family on your own."

"Are you telling me that I will lose, Sawada Tsunayoshi?" Hibari asked, his voice low and purely deadly. At his side, his hand clenched into a fist.

"Yes," Tsuna closed his eyes again, but he remained as stubborn and unyielding as ever. For the sake of Hibari's own safety, Tsuna would do whatever he could to stop him from doing this. "You cannot take on his entire famiglia, Hibari-san. Especially when you have just recovered."

"How long do you want me to wait, then," Hibari growled into the phone, thoroughly irate.

A quiet sigh, "At the very most, a few days. Byakuran would have attacked us - one of us, at any rate - by then. " He winced slightly at that – he didn't want to admit it, but it was the truth. He had made a mistake, and now he – and his entire famiglia – was paying for it.

"I cannot give you evidence on how I know this; only my intuition." Taking a deep breath, he continued. "I need you to work with us again, Hibari-san. In order to bring the Gesso down."

There was a long, tense silence between them, punctuated by soft, regular breaths. "Very well then, Sawada Tsunayoshi. But if at the end of two days you still wish to hide behind your alliance, I will fight the King of Rats myself."

After the line went dead, Tsuna thrust the phone back on its hook with a frustrated growl. His eyes went to Reborn, who sat oh so comfortably on the edge of the large mahogany table.

"Silly Tsuna," Reborn berated immediately. "You still don't know how to properly handle your Guardians."

Tsuna bit the inside of his cheek, saying nothing for a long moment. Glowering at Reborn was useless, so he just stared hard at the Vongola Sky ring, stroking it as he thought of his guardians.

Yamamoto was recovering, not just from poison, but from physical wounds that he hadn't been paying attention to. Hibari was all but ready to go. Ryohei and Gokudera were engaged in battle - whether they succeeded or needed backup, they would call. And inside, Tsuna could feel their flames brightly burning.

"...I want Chrome and Lambo on standby. No, I'm issuing a summons," he sighed. "And if Squalo hasn't left yet, tell him not to go anywhere."

Reborn looked at his student impassively, but there was the smallest upward curve to his lips. Tsuna had grown up well; had became a boss who was worthy of the Vongola name and ring. The trip into the future had matured him greatly - in fact, it had been a wake-up call for almost all the Guardians, making them realize the true extent of what it meant to be the mafia. But it had certainly affected Tsuna the most, and not in a bad way either.

But he would never tell his student this: after all, it would be bad form if the Vongola Tenth actually gained an ego.

"What are you going to do with Mukuro, then?"

"Nothing," Tsuna ducked his head briefly before leaning back in his seat to look up at Reborn. "It would be suspicious to call him back now when he's supposed to be 'taking care of Byakuran.' It'll be dangerous for him."

"He might be in even more danger if he stays by Byakuran's side," Reborn commented almost idly. He tilted his hat downwards to cover his eyes, "Tsuna. If Byakuran uses Mukuro as a bargaining chip, will you give in?"

Tsuna shook his head automatically. "But I won't leave him to a man who doesn't deserve him." He frowned as he continued, "If Byakuran does do that... Mukuro is my guardian. And I am strongest when I am protecting what is mine."

"A man who doesn't deserve him," Reborn repeated, enough scorn in his voice to drown a man. "Your job as the Tenth is not to matchmake, Tsuna." His words were sharp, tone harsh. He jumped off the desk to stand in front of Tsuna. "The famiglia - that is the most important. You have learnt that, haven't you?"

"Exactly," Tsuna shot back. "And the famiglia is nothing without the people who make its existence possible. I would do the same for any of my guardians."

"What if he betrays you? What will you do, then?" Reborn's fingers traced the edge of the desk as he circled it, falsely casual.

"Hibari-san can do whatever he wants with that Byakuran..." Tsuna looked side darkly. "If Mukuro betrays me..." He couldn't believe he was even entertaining the idea. "It would be against his will. I know it."

It seemed like Tsuna wanted to say more, his lips parting again, briefly, but then he clamped his mouth shut again, stubborn.

"He wants to destroy the mafia," Reborn seemed to muse aloud, walking over to the other end. "Why do you trust him so much? What makes you think he will obey you and not jump ship the moment there is someone stronger?" His hand slammed down against the desk, but his expression remained unchanged - cold, impassive, with a sharp-edge smile curving up his lips.

Tsuna smiled sadly. He knew that his mentor was not pleased, but he couldn't seem to find the words to explain himself. He just knew. "It's not about strength, Reborn... Not at all."

Reborn leaned in closer, his eyes chips of black ice and lips pressed into a thin line. "Then what is it about, Tsuna? What do you think Rokudo Mukuro wants from you?"

"I can... change the mafia. I can destroy the thing he hates by changing it into something else."

"What do you think you can do, Tsuna?" Reborn raised an eyebrow, perfectly disdainful. "You are just a boss of one Family. The mafia consists of far more than you can imagine."

"But I'm not just any boss of any Family." Tsuna shut his eyes for a second. When he opened them again, they seemed to glow with amber fire from within. "I'm the Vongola Sky, whose reach is far and wide, and growing with every alliance that we make.

"That's why I refuse to break our ties with the Gesso," he shook his head. "If that's what they want though, so be it, but I won't let them ruin the harmony that I've spread amongst my other alliances either."

Tsuna stood up slowly from his seat, and rose, walking towards the window. "Do you remember, Reborn? You were there when I used my dying will to purify the dark aura Mukuro was wrapped up in... I didn't understand the significance of that when I was younger, but I do now. There's no need to solve everything with death and violence."

At the end of that long speech, Reborn finally took a step back from the table. He tilted his head down, the brim of his hat casting a long shadow across his face, hiding his eyes as he slowly walked towards the couch. He dropped back into it, still silent and perfectly aware of the rising tension in the room.

He smiled, and tilted his head back to meet Tsuna's eyes.

"Don't ever lose that determination, Tsuna. Your Guardians are strong, and so are your allies, but are you?" His eyes demanded a yes, no other answer allowed. "If you want to change the mafia, then change it. Grow even stronger if you still aren't strong enough. But change it. That is what the Ninth chose you for."

"And then," Tsuna shied a glance towards him, a small grin curling up. He laughed, "I can take over the world."

***

Gamma could barely believe his eyes, but Genkishi wasn't fighting them anymore. They were still facing a dark crusader all right, but it wasn't the Phantom Knight that he knew. No, it was a monster. A giant, hulking, armor-encased monster.

It didn't even sound like Genkishi, its voice loud but rasping, and far too malicious. And it wasn't an illusion.

Gokudera paled upon seeing it. He knew, immediately, that it was caused by the Hell Ring - the Tenth had told him enough about it for him to recognize him at first sight. He had a creeping sense of déjà vu all over again, and cursed himself for not being able to stop history from repeating itself. Again.

"Goddamnit," he growled out loud, fingers tightening around another stick of dynamite. "We're not going down, Phantom Knight, no matter what tricks you pull out of your sleeves."

The knight screeched at them, laughing like he was mad. "I'm going to flay you, Storm guardian. I'm going to tear you limb from limb and paint the ground red with your blood!"

"G-Genkishi..." Gammagaped. It wasn't Genkishi.

"Like hell you would," Gokudera spat back. He glanced at first Ryohei, then Gamma, making a small jerk of his head to motion to them to move backwards. Gamma stumbled slightly as he did so, moving more on automatic than anything else as he continued staring at Genkishi- or rather, the monster that used to be his comrade.

He gulped slightly, opening his mouth but he couldn't think of anything to say. Had Byakuran really driven him this far?

Ryohei, in the mean time, only jogged closer to Gokudera, plucking a couple of sticks of dynamites out of his hand. He lit them, and then passed them back to the Storm Guardian who only nodded at him, mixing red Storm flames with the yellow Sun ones. Then, Gokudera tugged on Ryohei's sleeves and threw the dynamites at Genkishi before diving for cover.

Gamma ran after them, panting heavily and ducking behind a tree just as the explosives went off. He ran a hand through his hair, squeezing his eyes shut as he tried to tell himself to stay calm. He wanted to yell at Genkishi all over again.

Suddenly, he was pulled forward by the tie. His eyes went wide, even when he discovered that it was a human face. It was the Hurricane Bomber snarling at him with almost pitying eyes. Pitying? Understanding?

"Now's the time to show the strength of your resolve, bastard."

"Yea!" Ryohei said, coming up beside Gokudera. He reached over and patted Gamma hard on the shoulder. "Let's beat him down to the limit!"

I don't want to, was Gamma's first response. Traitor though he might be, Genkishi was still his comrade, his friend. They had worked on missions together, had served Lady Uni and her mother together. He couldn't understand why the other man would suddenly betray the Giglionero like that; nothing of what Genkishi had said had made any sense at all.

But he pushed back those thoughts, focusing back on the situation. He flexed his fingers, turning to the Vongola Guardians. "I don't need you to tell me that," he said, smiling a little viciously. Thunder flames sparked at his fingers as he flexed them.

"Ch'," Gokudera smirked knowingly. "Then work with me, guys." He might as well have said follow my lead as he looked from Gamma to Ryohei and back. "These dynamites hit fastest with Sun flame, but strongest with Thunder."

"But sword brows is fast to the extreme, too!" Ryohei cut in.

"Then you've got to be faster!"

Gamma's eyes darted between the two of them before resting on Gokudera. He nodded, "Then we'll stun him with the Sun flames first." His tone was crisp, cold, professional. "Take him down, before the Thunder flames finish the job." Then, he paused, as if something just occurred to him.

"What about your flames, Vongola Storm?"

For a brief moment, Gokudera wanted to roll his eyes. Then he reminded himself, this Gamma didn't have the chance to figure it out, so he had to spell it out for him. "Mine have to be at the core, to control when these babies blow up. Your flame has to wrap around mine. You catch my drift?"

But Gamma got the feeling nonetheless, and felt a spark of irritation in return. But he smoothed out his frown and simply nodded. "I follow your logic."

"So let's start already!" Ryohei barged in between the two of them. In the slight distance, he could already hear Genkishi's heavy footsteps. "Give me those dynamites, octopus head."

"Catch." Gokudera tossed them over - live ones - with a flick of his wrist, frowning harder briefly as he recalculated how much he had left, then shoved a number of sticks against Gamma's chest. "Aim to kill, or knock him out, whichever. So long as we stop him without letting him get away."

Gamma nodded, biting back a sarcastic reply. It was bad enough that he had to fight Genkishi, but it was outright strange, the way the Vongola Storm looked at him.

But as Ryohei darted off, Gokudera refocused his attention onto the live dynamite in the Sun guardian's hands. He had to concentrate on the timing, and had no time for Gamma's reply.

Ryohei caught the dynamites all in one hand, biting down on a lip as he scrambled with them slightly. His Sun flames burnt brightly in his other hand, illuminating the trees around him and he knew that Genkishi would be able to see it and approach him.

He wrapped the yellow flames around Gokudera's red Storm ones carefully, making sure that they mixed together properly before he stepped out from the trees out into the open. Taking aim, he drew an arm back and threw the dynamites straight towards Genkishi's face.

Gamma growled at the lack of warning, Thunder flames sparking and reaching outwards. Concentrating, he separates them into little balls before lobbing each of them towards the dynamites as they flew towards Genkishi. The flames spread as they soared through the air, and the fuses caught the flames.

Gokudera drew his arm back, the way Yamamoto had painstakingly managed to teach him after many years, and hurled more Storm flame into the mix for good measure, making it sink past the Thunder into the gunpowder.

Just before a chain of explosions went off, however, he swore.

"Lawn head! Get out of the-"

***

Due to time constraints (my schedule is insane) and severe hatred of the FFN uploading system ((t shouldn't take me nearly half an hour to upload ONE chapter!), we would like to direct all of your dear readers to kagayachou's journal on livejournal. Just type in 'kagayachou' followed by livejournal followed by a dot and then com. Or go to my profile page: there is a link there that will direct you to where Windshear is uploaded.

Currently, on LJ, we're on chapter 35.

Enjoy, and leave a comment either here or there! We will sincerely appreciate it. Thank you!