Katekyo Hitman Reborn! Secret Bullet Special

From Katekyo Hitman REBORN! Character Book Vongola 77.

危険なボーイミーツ…
Meeting a dangerous boy…

Amano Akira & Koyasu Hideaki

Date: 11 October
(For reference, the main events of the Kokuyou Arc took place on 9 Sept.)

-1-

After hearing news that the Vongola 9th Boss collapsed from a sudden illness, Dino visits the Vongola headquarters to see him, but was surprised when told that the 9th Boss had recovered and is fine now, but even more surprised when the old man refused to meet him. He had no choice but to leave, despite his misgivings. In the garden outside the headquarters, Dino meets a member of the CEDEF, Oregano, in secret and is informed that Iemitsu wants to talk to him about something.

Back in the headquarters, Leviathan reports to Xanxus that Dino had left without suspicion. Then, Levi gets into a squabble with Belphegor, as usual, until they're stopped by Lussuria. Mammon reports that the "other thing" is ready, and Squalo brings in Gola Moska. Xanxus introduces his squad to their newest member…

Elsewhere, around midnight, Basil and Lal Mirch meet Turmeric and Iemitsu in a warehouse at the port. Basil reports that he has completed the reconnaissance. As they suspected, the Varia is searching for Iemitsu, who surmises that they're after the Vongola Rings. Specifically, the Half Vongola Rings kept by Iemitsu. They know Xanxus is after the Vongola Boss-ship, and the Varia have already begun to look for the other boss candidate in Japan. But, Iemitsu has yet to give up on the other young candidate, and he spares a thought for his beloved wife and son in Japan.


-2-
Japan. Namimori town.

A month has passed since the spate of violence caused by the Kokuyou Jr. High students, and the town has returned to normal. But, back to normal for the Sawada household is anything but calm. Lambo is up to his usual nonsense and snatches a cup of espresso from Tsuna. It's actually meant for Reborn, who takes it back after dealing out the appropriate damage to Lambo. Naturally, this results in a certain bazooka being whipped out, and suddenly, the adult Lambo is sitting in the Sawada house. Who promptly gets abused by Reborn again, leading to more noise, and the appearance of the adult Yipin. Who gets pulled into the fight too. In the midst of all this, Reborn orders Tsuna to go and buy more coffee as they've ran out.

In the shopping street, Tsuna runs into Haru, Kyoko and Fuuta in the coffee shop. Tsuna is worried about Fuuta, whose ranking abilities have been crippled since the incident with Mukuro, but Fuuta assures Tsuna that he is all right. Nonetheless, Tsuna notices that Fuuta's smile doesn't quite reach his eyes. Suddenly, Tsuna feels a sharp sense of the chills but it's gone in a second, leaving him to wonder what it could have been. It seems that Fuuta felt it too, but before they could think further about it, the girls take Fuuta out of the shop to make him feel better. Tsuna is about to follow them but outside, he catches sight of a little boy crying alone in a corner.


-3-

The little boy is just a bit younger than Fuuta and Tsuna can't help but feel sorry for him. So, Tsuna decides to help him look for his mother. En route, he runs into Longchamp and his new girlfriend. Or not. (Not important.) But, when Tsuna is talking to Longchamp, he suddenly shivers with the chills again, and hears a voice.

(Naitou… Longchamp…)

The mysterious voice seems to ring only inside Tsuna's head.

(You, too… Someday…)

Tsuna screams in terror, and surprises Longchamp. It seems Longchamp didn't hear the voice, so Tsuna dismisses it as his imagination, and continues to help the little boy find his mother.

*

Tsuna and the boy leaves the shopping street and enters the residential district. Although the boy seems certain that he'd be able to find his mother in this direction, Tsuna is not so sure. Still, he follows along. Suddenly, he hears someone yelling.

"Uwaaaaaaaah!!!"

Then, "10th Boss!?"

It's Gokudera being chased by his sister. Bianchi has been delivering her Poison Cooking to Gokudera every day since the Kokuyou incident, to help him nurse his injuries, apparently. Gokudera begs Tsuna to help him, but alas, against Bianchi, even the 10th Boss is powerless.

"Tsuna, step aside."

"Please don't step aside, Boss!"

"Eh.. .er, uh…" No matter how much Tsuna wanted to help his friend, he couldn't do anything with Bianchi glaring at him.

"Step aside, Tsuna!!!"

"Eeeeee!!" It was as if Bianchi's command was a physical force and Tsuna falls backwards onto his backside. Then, Bianchi's face returns to a gentle smile.

"So… there's nobody to get in our way now, Hayato."

"D-don't come near meeeeeeeeee!!"

Gokudera runs for his life, with Bianchi in pursuit. Tsuna is left sitting on the road by himself.

"…S-sorry, Gokudera-kun…" Tsuna spares a brief prayer for his friend's life and safety.

*

Suddenly, Tsuna feels a small hand circle around his neck from the back. It's the little boy, and Tsuna relaxes a little. Tsuna asks if he's tired, and offers to carry him on his back, but… The boy's fingers remains on Tsuna's neck like points of ice, and for a moment, Tsuna feels as if something icy cold had been poured into him. Then… slowly, the slender fingers…

"Uwaaaahhhh!!"

Once again, someone yelling from far away distracts Tsuna. The boy also releases his fingers from Tsuna's neck. This time, it's Dr. Shamal…. Being chased by Ryouhei. Ryouhei was badly injured by the Kokuyou boys a month ago. He'd heard that Shamal was a very good doctor and wanted Shamal to examine him so that he could recover faster. But, Shamal doesn't see male patients, and Ryouhei doesn't take no for an answer. So, Shamal tells Ryouhei that Tsuna is actually an unlicensed doctor because he has this secret technique so Tsuna should take a look at Ryouhei. Stupidly, Ryouhei believes Shamal, who makes a good escape, and Tsuna spends over an hour trying to clear the misunderstanding.


-4-

"Haaa…" Tsuna stood on a bank overlooking a wide river and sighed. The setting sun in the distance covered the street with a red hue. He hadn't realized it was already so late. He was getting really tired too, but when he noticed the little boy standing next to him, he forced a smile.

"It-it's going to be all right. We'll definitely find your mom."

"……" The boy hung his head and did not reply.

He must be exhausted too, Tsuna thought to himself. Not to mention he was already upset at being separated from his mother… On that thought, Tsuna regained a burst of energy, and became even more determined to find the boy's mother.

"We'll go ask the people staying around here. Someone might know or recognize this boy…"

"Don't bother any more. It's fine."

Tsuna gasped. The voice which spoke was cold and emotionless, and it came from the mouth of the little boy next to him. Time seemed to suspend for a moment.

"…don't bother…?" Tsuna repeated slowly.

The little boy didn't reply. Instead… he laughed. It was a cold and mocking laughter that seemed to scoff at everything in the world.

"Uh!" A frightening chill wrecked Tsuna's entire body, worse than the ones he'd been feeling before.

It couldn't be… The premonition sent a shudder through Tsuna. He knew what it was now. He'd finally realized. This feeling… It was that youth… The one who fought Tsuna and his friends till the end. The one who should have been locked up in a place far away from here…

"Ro…kudo…"

"BAAAAAAAAAAM!!"

"Owowowowowow…!!!" Tsuna exclaimed in pain. It was as if fireworks had exploded right in front of his eyes. Something had hit him on his forehead.

"Sorry! Hey, are you all right… ehh, isn't that Tsuna?"

"Uuu… ehh…?" Tsuna wavered unsteadily on his feet, but despite the blow to his head, the voice that came up to Tsuna sounded familiar.

"Oh, I see. I hit Tsuna with the baseball. Sorry, sorry."

"Ya-Yamamoto…?"

The other boy wore a baseball uniform. As he ran up to Tsuna's side, his tall frame was bent slightly and he bopped his head in apology. "I was practicing my batting and hit the ball this way. The ball hit you on the head. Are you okay?"

Tsuna touched his head gingerly and felt a splendid bump starting to form. But, apart from that, there didn't seem to be anything too serious. "Wait, you said practicing… in a place like this?"

"Tomorrow is the start of the autumn tournament. We're doing a final coordination practice, so we've kind of borrowed the wide grounds of this dry river bed."

"Ohh…"

"What about you, Tsuna? What are you doing here? Did you come here to look at the sunset and yell, "Damn you~~~!!!" or something?"

"Of course not. That's like something out of a youth drama. Right now, I'm helping this boy find his parents…"

"Ah!" Yamamoto spotted the boy half-hidden behind Tsuna and recognition dawned on his face. "You… happen to be…"

"Ehh! Yamamoto, you know him?"

"No mistake! You've been to our baseball club's matches before, haven't you?"

He'd found a lead in an unexpected place! Tsuna's face split into a wide smile. "Then, this boy must have a relative in the baseball club?"

"Yeah! I'll go and ask them."

"I-I'm coming too!"

Overjoyed with relief, Tsuna left the boy in place and followed Yamamoto down the bank to the river bed. Now that he'd finally found the boy's family, Tsuna forgot all about the uneasiness he'd been feeling all day---

Or so he thought.

"Wha…!?" Tsuna looked at the ground of the dry river bed, and saw the team of uniformed boys collapsed in exhaustion all around… You could say it looked like the scenery out of a drawing of Hell. And, a lone figure stood in the middle of the batter's box…

"Hi-Hibari-san!?"

Hibari Kyouya. As head of Namimori Junior High's Disciplinary Committee, he was considered the strongest delinquent in the school.

"Why is… Hibari-san here…?"

"It was me. I asked him to come and help with the baseball club's training."

"Eeeeehh!?" Tsuna exclaimed in shock, more at how plainly Yamamoto had announced such an incredible idea.

"I said to him, if we could win this autumn tournament, the name of Namimori would be known throughout the country. So, he said, OK, and came along."

"Ahh…" Tsuna nodded in understanding. While he was a delinquent, Hibari loved the school more than anybody else. Since it was for the sake of the school, it was no mystery that Hibari had agreed to such a thing. Tsuna didn't expect someone as easy-going as Yamamoto to have come up with something like that, though.

"B-but, he's gone too far, hasn't he? You guys have a match tomorrow and all…"

"There's no problem."

"Waah!" A voice had spoken from right behind him. In a blink of an eye, Hibari had appeared next to Tsuna.

"All I did was bite the whole team to death. There's no problem at all."

(No way! There's a big problem---!!!)

"That's right, Tsuna. They'll all be revived after they sleep it off tonight."

(A-are you sure?????)

Hibari preferred to be alone, and disliked crowded gatherings. In the end, it was pretty impossible for him to help out in the training, and not expect something like this to happen… Tsuna thought so, anyway.

"Sawada Tsunayoshi…"

"!"

"Would you like to practice too?"

The inauspicious metallic sound that accompanied Hibari's tonfa appeared before him.

"Are you talking about practice-knocking with those tonfa… Ah, no, I mean, I have no intention of taking part in the practice…"

"Come on, Tsuna, go for it. Since Hibari so rarely gets into the mood."

"…I'll bite you to death."

"That 'mood' part is what worries me---!?"

In the end---

The grounds that were dyed in hues of red became filled with the sounds of Tsuna's grievous yells.

*

"Another… failure…" The boy who wasn't as young as he appeared murmured. He looked down on the ground of the dry river bed drenched in the colour of blood by the setting sun. A breeze blew across his forehead, lifting his fringe for a second. The word "Six" rose clearly in the boy's right eye.



-5-
A month ago—

He had fought against Sawada Tsunayoshi, and used the so-called "forbidden bullet", the possession bullet. It was a terrifying weapon that allowed the user to transfer his consciousness into another person's body, thereby possessing it. But, this time, he had a different tactic.

It was not a physical effect; he intended to use his own spiritual power to completely assimilate the host. Perhaps it was more accurate to say that he would join his spiritual wave to the other's. Physical restraints did not matter in the spiritual world. So, even while he was completely immobilized, and locked deep in the prison, he could still assimilate the boy in the distant, unreachable Japan.

The problem was the affinity of the spirits.

He just barely managed to match the boy's spiritual wave, so he couldn't incarnate his existence into reality. In other words, it felt like his power was continuously fluctuating. But, there was one advantage. Because he couldn't achieve a complete assimilation, he could escape detection by Sawada Tsunayoshi, who possessed a "hyper intuition" ability. By acting as an innocent child, he could get much closer to his target.

When it's just the two of us, and his guard is down, he will become mine…

But, in the end…

"…Well, it's all right."

*

It's Sunday. Under the clear sky, the sounds of cheering filled the stands of the stadium. He gave a thin smile.

Yesterday, after meeting the baseball team, the boy he'd possessed was picked up by his older bother and brought home, so he failed to get his target. He had intended to lead his target to a deserted location, but in the end, he had miscalculated his plans.

Presently, the boy's older brother was standing in the batter's box, glaring fiercely at the pitcher. After their hellish special training, the baseball team were all revived, without exception. Not just revived. If they'd missed and forfeited the match, they'd literally be bitten to death by Hibari. That much was certain.

(Then again, Hibari Kyouya didn't come today. Kufufu… How typical of him.)

Next to him, the boy's mother was standing and cheering on his brother in the batter's box. "Look, Mi-kun! Your brother is batting now! Look!"

As if encouraged by his mother's excitement, the boy began cheering as well. Nonetheless, his eyes were fixed on a group of people seated not far away from him.

(Sawada… Tsunayoshi…)

The Vongola 10th Boss candidate was surrounded by many of his friends, looking very happy and laughing along with them. Not just for this. Wherever the Vongola 10th Boss went, his friends were sure to be around him. If not for them, he would definitely have succeeded in killing Sawada Tsunayoshi.

(Friends… huh.)

Suddenly, he felt a wave of dizziness, and the boy pressed his hand to his face. He realized that he was near his limit in using this boy's body. Most likely, he'd only be able to last another day or so. Well, not that it mattered much. He would soon find a new "candidate" anyway.

(Friends… In any case, I will probably need "her"…)

Then, he was--- Alone, and he quietly closed his eyes.

*

"Uh!!!"

In a place faraway from Japan---

Joushima Ken, who had been lying down, jumped up with a gasp as he woke up. In order to help them escape from the Vendichi prison, "he" had set himself up as a decoy and was re-captured. They were going to rescue him again. They'd decided on a plan, and Ken was taking a nap before they set off.

"Oi, Kakipii!!!" He called to his partner, who was keeping watch.

"……" The spectacled youth, Kakimoto Chikusa, looked back. He seldom showed any emotions on his face, but this time, his face mirrored Ken's, both coloured with shock.

"Don't tell me… you, too…"

"…I saw him…"

That's right. The two of them saw him. In the interval between dream and wakefulness, they saw his face. And, he said—

"---Go and find the other me."

"What does that mean, "the other"?"

"I don't know…" Chikusa wiped away the sweat that'd dripped onto his glasses. Even though they were filled with questions, to the two of them, his orders were absolute.

"We have no choice but to go, right? …To Japan."

That could very well be the shortcut to rescuing him. A tiny glimmer of hope filled their chest, even as they headed back to the place where they'd suffered their most crushing defeat.

*

"……"

Nagi opened her eyes. The smell of disinfectant filled her nose. Light filtered through from a nearby window, and the girl lay on a bed with white sheets.

"…I'm alive…"

She reached up and through the eye patch, she touched her right eye carefully.

She could feel it…

His presence was definitely there… In her dream… In another world, the man who'd reached out his hand to her…

"Mukuro… sama…"

Slowly--- Like withered leaves falling down, Nagi began to cry.

*

Everything had been set in motion.
The end is the end. Everything comes around.
Then---
The next story will begin.

---

Translation notes
I didn't want to translate the first three chapters because there is a lot of redundant narration that recap things you should already know if you've read the manga. And, I was lazy. XD; When I started to summarise chapter 4, I realised it would be much easier to just translate the whole thing, so chapter 4 onwards are translations.

Having said that, I can't translate the novel word-for-word. Japanese writing is very different, and I prefer to make the text flow properly in English. Everything that was in the Japanese text is in the translation, and I did NOT add anything in. It's just... re-written a bit with a lot less paragraph breaks.

The other reason for translating chapter 4 onwards is Hibari and Mukuro. Yes, I'm biased. XP

Please do not repost this translation anywhere else! I never know when I will change something because I haven't double-checked the translation. ^^; Linking to this post is a much better idea. Thank you!