Joker [[Rewritten]]

19 (Decieving Mist - Part 8 [Another captive?])

After Tsuna and co dealt with Birds, they set off immediately. Well, not all of them. Hide caught sight of a kid staring at them. At first, he furrowed his eyes as he stared at him. But then he saw the scarf around his neck and realized it was Futa. Without telling anyone, he walked off, following the kid into the forest. Reborn and Tsuna noticed this but said nothing. Hide could handle himself, right?

Hide his a scowl from the boy.

"Oi, we're all looking for you. Come on. Let's go." Futa back away from the hand extended out from him. "Huh? What's wrong?" Hide frowned at him as Futa hugged his book to his chest.

"I'm sorry. I can't go back to where everyone is..." Futa gulped as he looked at the 'concerned' teen. After a few breaths, Futa continued to speak. "I- I'm following Mukuro-san now...!" Before Hide could ask, he turned around and walked into the forest. "Goodbye." Hide blinked in surprise and ran after the kid. He wanted to go home. Not spend all day looking for a stupid kid.

With Tsuna and co

A gust of wind swept past Takeshi and Arata. Everyone's eyes widen (apart from Bianchi, Tsuna and Reborn) as they dodged some sort of object. Seeing the damage done, they all put up their guard and shared the same thought. 'The next assassin!'

With Hide

Somehow, Hide lost Futa and was now searching the forest with a scowl on his face. How dare Futa waste his precious time?! He didn't know it then, but Hide was thinking about wasting a precious opportunity. A twig tripped Hide up. And a twig let him make a chance encounter. Before he landed flat on his face, he managed to regain his footing. His head lifted up to see a boy. Not the one he was chasing. Another one.

He also had a Kokuyo uniform. He was quite tall and had mismatching eyes. But the thing that really stood out, was the blue hair stylized into a pineapple. Hide concealed his wariness with a clueless face.

"Oh?" Hide watched as the mans face morphed into a smile with a light blush across his cheeks. "Your here to help us, aren't you?" He looked at Hide with hopeful eyes. Though he was heartless, Hide couldn't say no. They actually were helping them. Hide sighed in relief, believing the teen was another captive but forced into a uniform. Where did they get it anyway? Kokuyo is abandoned.

"We're still in the middle. But yes. We're here to help!" The teen took Hide's hand in his and smiled.

"Ex- Excuse me for jumping the gun here but, I'm really grateful for you to come here." Hide stopped himself from jolting as the teen thanked him. Somehow, Hide started to talk about Reborn, mentioning he always indirectly helps him in a fight. As Hide asked the teen a question, a dark aura surrounded him. "I'm the one asking questions. The baby you mentioned..." Hide felt a shiver trickle down his spine. "What is he capable of doing, indirectly?" Noticing his red eye show kanji, Hide took a step back in fear. He noticed something changed about him before snapping out of it and changing the subject.

"Ah! I need to get back to my friends! I've lost them!" The dark aura disappeared. Hide yelled his goodbye and ran off in hopes of escaping the teen and finding his friends.

"Kufufu~." Another teen appeared behind him, wearing glasses and a beanie. A bandage was strapped on his cheek and he had a split lip, after fighting Arata and losing (on their way, Arata kicked blades away from Tsuna and fought him. The bandage covered a gunshot wound and the split lip is from when Arata kicked him. Of course, Arata won but sustained a lot of damage. He of course saw Shamal and made him use whatever to let him help his Juudaime).

"That baby has to be one of the Arcobaleno." The other agreed. Turning his head to the other, he smiled in amusement.

"Furthermore, if the baby isn't joining the line of battle, he must have something up his sleeve." A light chuckle escaped his lips. "Let's get the Vongola Decimo in our hands and find our, shall we?"

"You look really happy." He smiled.

"Actually, I'm most astounded by this meeting. Vongola Nono is known as a man who can see through the strengths of others as if he had God's batons in his hand. The successor he has chosen is..." the teen stifled a laugh. "Well, he a much weaker boy than I expected." His eyes glinted darkly as he chuckled. "What is it about him...?" Chikusa was silent as he watched him.

"Well, whatever it is, I want that Arcobaleno to show his hand first. Unless he escaped, it's not likely they'll be ale to put up a fight against him, right?" The teen smirked. "That fake Rokudo Mukuro."

With Tsuna and Co

A chained steel ball made contact with a wall, causing it to break down and collapse due to the pressure. Arata's breathing hitched as he gripped his side where the yo-yo freak got. 'My injuries from that freak are starting to hurt...' He looked back at the man. He wore a cap, jacket and leather trousers. His outfit was different from their past enemies (sans the two OC's) and he held a chain in his hands, connecting to the steel ball.

"Let's finish this quick, bastard." Arata held his gun as Tsuna eyed his storm, slight guilt hitting him. "I don't have time to deal with you." The man gripped his hat as he spoke.

"It's futile." They watched as he threw his hat. Eyes widened as they looked at his face. "I'm going to win." Their minds raced back to the information Reborn fed them. This man looked exactly like Rokudo Mukuro! But Arata and Tsuna knew otherwise.

"It's you!"

"From the photograph!"

"EXTREME Rokudo Mukuro!"

"..." Arata flinched as he looked at the man. The pain is getting to him. Tsuna continued to watch Arata.

"What have you done to Futa?" Bianchi asked. 'Mukuro' hummed in confusion.

"Futa...?" Tsuna and Reborn noticed the genuine confusion lacing his voice. "No idea." Finally showing his pain, Arata dropped to the floor, alarming the others. Ryohei placed a hand on his head. 'He's EXTREMELY burning up! Is this the EXTREME effects Shamal-san told us about?!'

"Uh-oh." Takeshi said. He noticed Arata acting different but shook it off. Now, he was certain. Takeshi stepped in front of 'Mukuro' and held his fist next to his face. "I'll be your opponent then." 'Mukuro' nod his head and swung his steel ball over his head.

"Senja-reppa!" Takeshi dodged the ball but it still struck him in the stomach. He grunted feeling the impact as the others yelled out to him. Arata's body collapsed. His eyes stayed shut and his breathing was heavy. Tsuna immediately saw this and carried Arata on his back. Before anyone could ask, Tsuna yelled.

"I'm taking him to the barrier." At that, he sped off. Reborn's sharp ears caught the sound of his student and his eyes glinted.

"This is bad." Cocking his gun, Reborn held it up to his face. "I'll have to use this."