Second Life

First and Second Key

Tsuna was nervous. That was something quite obvious. He was about to engage in a battle with Enma, why wouldn't he be nervous anyway. Though, the nerves that were wrecking through his being were hidden in sheer determination to get Chrome back. That, and he wanted to talk Enma out of all this. He sincerely believed that Enma would definitely listen to him.

He, Yamamoto, Gokudera and Ryuuichi pushed the raft to the shore, tying it up immediately so that it wouldn't drift away. As they did, he took a brief glance at Ryuuichi, who was looking around, as though he was searching for something.

Last night, he had confronted the teen when Ryuuichi stayed over. (Reborn was around, hidden in the shadow. Tsuna just knew he was there, even if he couldn't see or feel the hitman's presence) He asked him if he were alright, and all, and he had asked if he could know the reason why he didn't interfere. Ryuuichi, as usual, simply gave him a loop sided smile, all too familiar to him, and said that even if Ryuuichi did interfere, he couldn't change the resulting situation, which was this. And Ryuuichi couldn't, as he had pledge alliance to both Vongola and Shimon. It wouldn't do good to side one.

It wasn't exactly the answer he was looking for, but he pried no further. Ryuuichi looked a bit off course. He still is, actually.

They walked further into the island and saw a huge entrance and a long stair up the hill. It didn't exactly looked abandoned, so they figured that there were people living on this island. "You were faster than we expected" They looked up to see Shimon. "We've been waiting, Tsuna-kun"

A certain red head in Hyper Dying Will Mode spoke as he looked down, standing in the middle of the others. "You were right about coming alone. If you had brought along a troop, there would have been more dead bodies to deal with"

Tsuna ignored that and asked for Chrome's safety. Much to their dismay, Julie Katou had answered them, sounding quite perverted. But before anymore were said, Reborn interrupted.

"Wait. Why are they here too? Are you the ones who let those ominous guards onto this island? The guards of the Mafia world" A sudden chill ran down their spine as they snapped their heads to one of the hills. Bandaged men who were holding onto chains stood in their glory. "Vindice!"

"Are they.. Humans?"

"They were, long ago." Adelheid explained to Enma. "Some call them Death Gods, and others call them devils. They are the most feared in the mafia world. Those who defy their rules are arrested without hesitation and are doomed to spend their life in a water prison that cannot be broken out of"

Ryuuichi silently mused at that. 'They're no death god alright'

"I don't recall inviting you to this sacred island! Have you come to mourn for Vongola who will soon meet their end?"

The one in the middle, answered with a voice that sounded so cold that had them freezing for a moment. "No. We live to take revenge. We know no other emotion, besides hatred. We have come here to complete the oath between Vongola Primo, Giotto, and Shimon Cozart." That had their full attention as the Vindice continued.

"Giotto and Cozart were connected by a strong friendship. Thus, it is impossible for Vongola and Shimon to bear swords against one another. However, should there be such case, then it was deemed our duty to destroy the defeated."

It wasn't any misunderstanding to all this, to Tsuna's horror. Everything felt so damn wrong. His intuition screamed. He felt, he knew, oh how much he knew that there was something going on here, and he didn't know a damn thing what it was.

"This oath has been activated twice. The one to lose this battle shall be locked in our prison forever. The dice have been rolled. Descendants of Giotto and Cozart. Let the battle begin!"