A/N: Guess who has more time now to update fics… Anyway, hope everyone is doing well! Times are tough, let's just hang in there as best we can.

Chapter 12

"In the face of the fabulous and new, your only thought is to kill it?

For fear of great change?

You can't hold the tide with a broom."

- Blade Runner 2049

"It's definitely from the Bovino famiglia."

There's a low thud sound as Hayato tossed the vibrant orange glock back into the crate. The insignia of the Bovino family was scratched into the handle, as it usually was when they've personally altered their own manufactured weapons. He'd only ever heard about this being done for prized members of the family, which meant the intended destination of the weapons load was someone the Bovino family held in high regard.

"Why on earth is a mafia family giving weapons to a middle-income manager?" Kusakabe mused, looking over the multicolored weapons stash set before Hibari's desk.

The Disciplinary Committee office was empty aside from them and Hibari himself, as Hibari's underlings were too well-trained to risk crowding their leader. The boy himself was leaned by the open window, arms crossed and gazing back at Hayato with a threatening glint to his eyes. Hayato, now becoming more familiar with Hibari's poisonous moods courtesy of having to work together to strip the Namimori Middle School faculty of "inappropriate" members, thought the palpable hostility was because even three people was a crowd to the irritable Alpha.

Hayato did not answer Kusakabe's query. Experience kept his mouth shut, not that he'd answer the other male even if Kusakabe was in the know about mafia happenings.

After all, Lambo Bovino was under the care of Hayato's chosen boss.

That damn cow, Hayato thought with a flash of annoyance. He knew why the Bovino had sent their arms to a civilian – it was likely to save money on postage. They already had to send a clean-up crew to the Watanabe residence because of Lambo, so they thought to save money and have some random civilian finish the delivery.

Hayato knew this was because the Bovino, as a whole, were absolutely terrified of Reborn. The fact that they sent some idiotic kid to mock an assassination on the world's most famous hitman was testament to the fact that the Bovino didn't have a single shred of common sense.

Hibari's eyes cut back to Kusakabe. "Check the patrol routes and increase surveillance of both the Watanabe's and the Irie's," he ordered his right-hand man curtly. "And have the police look into Watanabe Satoru's workplace."

Kusakabe understood the dismissal for what it was, nodding in assent before leaving the room. Hayato wanted to follow him out, but Hibari's eyes were back on him and he wasn't going to bother fighting the crazed Alpha for some imagined slight. It was bad enough he couldn't walk the Tenth home, and this was only further delaying him.

"Who are the Bovino?" Hibari asked.

It was the question Hayato had been dreading. "All I know is that they're a mafia family—"

Instinct had him barely ducking the tonfa that whizzed past his cheek and was embedded into the wall behind him. Hibari had stood now, and though his expression had not changed, he held his remaining tonfa at the ready.

"Herbivore, do not lie to me."

"Do you want to fight, you bastard?!" Hayato snapped back, pulling out his dynamite.

Hibari's eyes narrowed in consideration, clearly finding the idea of a fight interesting. He jumped his desk, stalking towards Hayato and launching another tonfa strike once he was within distance. Hayato jumped out of the way this time, reflexively throwing a couple sticks of dynamite in the prefect's direction.

Hibari struck the dynamite out the open window with another swipe of the tonfa, pulling his second tonfa out of the wall as Hayato's weapons exploded harmlessly in the open air. Instead of advancing again, however, he shook the plaster from his weapon and then glared at Hayato, who was stood ready on the other side of the office.

"I understand Omertà, herbivore," Hibari stated coolly. "Now tell me the Bovino's connection to Namimori."

Hayato froze, eyes widening at the admission. Omertà – the unsaid agreement between mafia famiglias to keep their world separate from those of civilians. Those who did not participate in the sphere of the mafia world were to be kept ignorant of its happenings, and every mafia member kept their participation and connections secret.

"How the fuck do you know—"

"That's not an answer to my question, herbivore."

The killing intent spiked, causing Hayato to tense in response. There was a moment spent just glaring at each other – Hayato poised ready for either flight or fight, Hibari definitely for fight. The scent of green tea and iron was strong enough even for Hayato to gauge, sticking unpleasantly in his throat as he worked it to spit out a reply.

"I don't know," he managed to grind out.

Hayato realized – belatedly – that his answer was enough of one for Hibari.

They both knew that Hayato would only lie for one person.

Hibari's killing intent did not lessen, but the look into those grey eyes became more calculating in response. Gradually, the prefect relaxed from his attack stance, tucking his tonfas back into their harnesses as the seconds elapsed between them. He turned abruptly, gakuran fluttering as he went to resume his stand by the open window.

"You don't have an afterschool job yet," Hibari started, voice almost a purr. "Do you?"

Hayato felt a cold shiver pass down his spine at the strong sense of foreboding in the words.

Miura Haru is six years old when she learns what it means to be an Alpha.

Her parents are watching television in the living room and she's sitting nearby but out of the way. She's got her fair share of toys but she's decided she wants to draw this time, so she puts crayon to paper and draws herself. She's a princess in her picture, with a dazzling ballgown on and a smiling Prince Charming set to rescue her from an unidentifiable monster made of brown and green scribbles.

Her mother looks over, brows furrowed, and asks her about the drawing.

"I'm a Princess," Haru tells her happily. "And this is my Prince, he's gonna save me from the monster!"

Her father chuckles, the kind of dismissive sound she doesn't understand at that age. "Shouldn't you be doing the rescuing?" he asks her. "You save the Omega, not the other way around."

Haru does not want to fight the monster in her drawing, but her parents have already turned their attention back to the TV and off her. She frowns, looks back at her drawing, and then puts a fresh piece atop and starts anew – this time on a picture with no princesses, or princes, or monsters.

Alphas aren't pretty princesses, they're fighters.

It's better this way.

/

Haru is eight years old when she learns what it means to be an Alpha.

She'd run too fast while playing on the playground, tripping over her own two feet and skinning her knees bloody. She rests back on her rear and wails on the playground floor, too shocked by the pain and all the red smeared across her legs.

A few of her friends, Beta girls and boys, are circled around her and staring with wide eyes. Satonaka-sensei finally appears, making her way towards a sobbing Haru.

"Miura-kun, that's enough," the teacher chides gently. "Alphas don't cry. Don't be an Omega."

Haru chokes down her next sob, despite the stinging of her knees, despite the insistent hand trying to tug her back into standing.

Alphas don't cry.

It's better this way.

/

Haru is eleven years old when she learns what it means to be an Alpha.

Yashiro-kun is about her size at this age, but unlike Haru, he prefers to play outdoors and rough-house with anyone willing to entertain him. He smells like dirt and sunshine, but not in the same way Haru does – his is from all the time he spends idling outside with his friends, a temporary scent that says more about his lifestyle than his dynamic.

He doesn't like Haru, because Haru stays inside and does her math homework, and still smells like sunshine. He does, however, like their classmate Tamayo-chan; an Omega girl who sits in the front row and glances at Haru whenever she refuses to go out and play with the other Alphas.

Yashiro-kun lashes out at Haru during PE, kicking a ball into her face hard enough to crack her nose. Blood gushes out and pain sparks behind her eyes, and it's lost on no one that he did it on purpose. There's a moment where their classmates stop and stare, the air thick with anticipation, and through the taste of iron in her throat – Haru realizes they're expecting her to do something.

So she does.

Yashiro buckles under her weight when she tackles him to the ground and his words turn muddled as her nails rip through the skin on his face. He's crying out for help seconds later, and their teacher pulls her off of him with a holler. There's blood on both their clothes, mingled together from both their injuries.

Their parents are called to the teacher's office and they're officially chastised. Her homeroom teacher sends her home with a sigh of "Alphas are Alphas."

And Alphas are dominating.

It's better this way?

/

Haru is 13 years old when she learns she has no idea what it means to be an Alpha.

The Omega boy, Sawada Tsuna, is staring her down. She initially thought him cute; not as cute as Reborn-chan, obviously, but cute in the way all Omegas could be cute. Small and frail, with large eyes and a delicate countenance that only Omegas could get away with.

The cuteness had been completely overtaken by the idea that he had twisted the sweet, innocent perceptions of the baby he kept in his company. Haru, as the Alpha, had taken it upon herself to save Reborn-chan – because that's what Alphas do. They save the vulnerable, they swallowed their tears, and they dominated their competitors.

Sawada Tsuna's eyes were frightening.

Haru had never seen them like this before. They practically burned gold, and the pressure he exuded despite his scent never changing was intense. It was as if he was looking through her rather than at her, picking at her core with nothing more than a glance.

"We should settle this now," Sawada began, his voice almost lulling. "Before anyone else gets hurt."

Haru's eyes widened, a flush overtaking her. "I-I didn't mean to—" she choked out, the vivid reminder of the Beta girl's bloodied elbows coming to mind.

"And what did you mean to do?" Sawada cut in.

Haru didn't know. As an Alpha, she had been following her instinct, had been following what she's been implicitly and explicitly expected of her – namely, making Sawada Tsuna recognize her as an Alpha and submitting accordingly. When he hadn't, when he'd dismissed her concerns about the rearing of the young Reborn, when he'd actually retaliated against her dominance display with violence – all Haru knew was that she had to escalate it and respond in kind.

She hadn't thought that meant hurting the Beta girl. She hadn't wanted to hurt anyone.

"If you'd- If you'd just acted like an Omega, that wouldn't have happened!" Haru declared, defensive and unreasonable. She didn't want to examine her own actions so closely – she'd never been taught how.

Sawada scoffed, "Like what? Letting you lecture me on Reborn, someone you don't even know?"

"Reborn-chan is a baby! His heart is pure—"

"Pure sadism maybe," Sawada muttered.

Haru stomped her foot. "This is exactly what I was talking about! Omegas don't act like this!" she exclaimed. The unimpressed look this earned her only increased her ire, but Haru didn't lash out physically like she had before – for one, she was pretty sure Sawada would give as good as he got.

"And how do Omegas act?" he asked after a moment, expression chilly but vaguely curious.

Haru already knew the answer to that: "They listen to Alphas!"

She'd seen enough to support this. Her Omega classmates were demure and obedient, never raising a hand or eye to the Alphas and Betas around them. They were soft and delicate, needing to be watched so that they weren't taken advantage of or unduly harassed. They listened to what they were told to do, never contradicting the instructions (coercions) of their peers or teachers.

"Yet here I am, not listening," Sawada retorted. "If it makes you feel better, I don't listen to my Alpha classmates either."

Haru remembered the two Alphas he'd been walking with earlier and could believe it. The Alpha girl had seemed focused entirely on the Beta girl, and that Alpha boy had been – well, fawning was the best word Haru could think of to describe the creepy smiling male.

"Well, you should!" she asserted.

Sawada's look was bored. "Why?"

Haru blinked, never having been asked that before. "Well, uh… Because they're Alphas," she said. And Alphas lead, Alphas dominate, Alphas don't need support like Omegas do. Alphas were strong.

She remembered the pain of being kneed by the slight boy before her.

"I don't want to," Sawada said.

Haru stared at him in bafflement.

He shrugged, uncaring. "I don't want to listen to Alphas. Listening to them never did me any good, so I don't want to anymore."

"That's—You can't just stop listening because you want to!"

"Why? They're not my teacher or my boss. I don't have to listen to them if I don't want to," Sawada dismissed.

"They're Alphas!" Haru cried in frustration. Why was he being so difficult?

"I don't care."

The finality in those words was frightening. Everything about Sawada Tsuna backed up his claim; he'd knocked her away when she'd gotten too close, he was lecturing her now, he had absolutely no qualms looking an Alpha in the eye or arguing with them – he seemed to honestly not care who was on the other end of his burning gaze as he tore them apart.

"Why? Why don't you care?" Haru ground out.

Sawada's expression – simmering gold eyes set in a face of stone – never changed. "Why do you care so much?"

Haru didn't know how to respond. Not because she didn't know the answer – but because the answer was so bitter that she didn't want to swallow it and admit it aloud.

She cared because if she didn't, and Sawada was right – that it didn't matter that she was an Alpha and he was an Omega, that this didn't automatically give her the right to push him the way she wanted to – then didn't that mean she was in the wrong? That all those years she was taught to behave and act a certain way, all those years she was forced to give up, piece by piece, who she wanted to be in order to become who everyone else thought she was – didn't that make it all meaningless?

And that was terrifying. That she could mean anything, that she could become anything, that she didn't have to be strong if she didn't want to be, that she didn't have to be violent if she was scared to be, that she could rely on others if she chose to do so – then what did it mean to be an Alpha?

Did being an Alpha even have to mean anything?

Sawada suddenly tensed before her, eyes darting to behind her and locking onto something else. She didn't understand why until a moment later when the mingled smell of Alphas invaded her nose, and she was already turning, half-blocking the Omega boy from view despite her thin frame to face the three boys coming closer.

"Lover's spat?" one of the boys, tall with a shaved head, leered in amusement. His two friends chortled at his sides, steps slowing to a stop a scant distance from Haru. They were far more fit than Haru, clearly at least involved in athletics of some kind, their forms lined with muscles.

The one that spoke, likely the leader, had already Presented; his smell was the strongest, a disgusting combination of fresh turned earth and acorn. He was also the largest, eyes looking past Haru to Sawada behind her in overt interest. Haru almost wanted to laugh manically; the Alpha was in for a surprise if they let Sawada speak at all.

"It's none of your business," Haru snapped back, never having learned how to do anything but escalate.

One hand closed around her elbow closest to Sawada, the smell of burnt sugar starting to overtake the Alphas' scents due to proximity. "We should go," he whispered into her ear.

Of course – he was an Omega, of course he wouldn't want to fight. It didn't occur to Haru that maybe it was better to choose the fight rather than have it chosen for you, that maybe disliking violence was enough to stay her hands. This didn't occur to her because no one had ever expected it of her, and Haru was only ever used to rising to expectations.

"Cute little thing, aren't you?" the Alpha leader said, directing the words to Sawada now. "Why is a little Omega like you with a bitch like this?"

Haru bared her teeth. It was obvious to her that these Alphas weren't interested in a little light ribbing, and with the way their eyes were focused on Sawada, she knew that meant danger. Her pheromones flared a bit in response, but this earned nothing more than a few mocking snickers from the boys before her.

Haru wasn't strong – she knew that. She'd been taken down by an Omega, for god's sakes; physical strength was not her forte. But that didn't mean she'd just leave Sawada to their mercy, because above all – Haru was not cruel.

"Run, Sawada!" she yelled, rushing forward and launching herself at the leader. She hoped Sawada was fast enough to reach the main road and be back in the public eye so that he was safe. Even if she wouldn't be able to hold her own long, she hoped she could do so long enough for Sawada.

Pain flared across her face as a fist bashed her aside, lights and dark spots dancing in her vision as she crashed to the ground with a yelp. It hurt—she absolutely hated pain, hated fighting and getting dirty and bruised—

But she hated people who hurt the weak and innocent more, so she crawled back up to her hands and knees.

A kick landed squarely against her side, knocking her back down to the ground. She rolled over on to her uninjured side, clutching her torso as tears welled in her eyes, but even then, she caught sight of Sawada's face.

He was furious.

There was a sudden pop and then blood momentarily gushed from his left temple, just as quickly disappearing into nothing as an orange fire blazed to life on his forehead. His clothes seemed to explode off of him, tatters landing at his feet and revealing a pair of dark orange boxers.

If blood hadn't already been running from her nose, Haru was sure it would have started right then.

"Protect Miura with my dying will!"

Sawada's words were delivered in a roar, and what had started as surprised, derisive laughter from the Alphas abruptly ended as Sawada dashed towards them, launching into a spin kick that sent the Alpha leader flying headfirst into the telephone pole Haru had been perched on just under an hour ago. He did not get back up.

Before the Alpha's two friends could do much more than gape at him, Sawada pivoted, outright punching the closest one straight into unconsciousness. The remaining Alpha fell on his butt with wide eyes, pheromones changed into something much more tempered as fear forced him into compliance.

And Sawada stopped.

The flame on his head flickered and diminished into nothing, an echo of that blaze shimmering in his amber eyes as he regarded the trembling Alpha on the ground in consideration. Then, with a sigh – as if something entirely shocking that rocked the foundations of Haru's world forever hadn't happened – Sawada waved a dismissive hand at the boy.

"Take your friends and go," he said, turning away and back to Haru. He grimaced as his eyes took in her injuries; she'd managed to get into a sitting position, legs tucked underneath her, one hand hovering over her sore ribcage as she gazed up at him.

Sawada had rescued her.

"Miura-san—"

"Tsuna-kun," she cut him off, the words stinging due to her cut lip. But she had to say them, couldn't just bottle them up because Tsuna deserved to know. The dusk-heavy sky backlit him in glowing orange, and the way the growing shadows played across his face only made the hue of his irises stand out all the more.

He was beautiful.

"You're amazing! Please marry me!"

His mouth fell open in a surprised gape, and he seemingly choked on his words for a moment. He was still incredibly cute.

"How hard were you hit?!"

"Go, Team A!"

"Team A, fighting~!"

Tsuna dodged Ikezawa's flailing pom-pom without looking, shaking his own with less enthusiasm. The Beta girls around him gave an ecstatic shriek as Yamamoto reached the finish line first, beating the track team's star members by several seconds. His cheering team members crowded the baseball player to slap against his back heartily, prompting a bashful grin from the humble Alpha, but they were quick to disperse when Yamamoto headed in Tsuna's direction with shining eyes.

"Great job, Yamamoto," Tsuna said, honestly impressed.

Yamamoto's smile brightened into something real. "It was a hard win," he said, even though he clearly wasn't even winded. "But don't worry, Tsuna, I'll have your back in the Pole Knocking competition!"

Tsuna's stomach clenched in stress. "Y-Yeah, thanks—"

"THAT'S RIGHT, SAWADA!"

Tsuna winced, reflexively clamping one hand over his abused ear. He was quick to learn that Ryouhei just completely lacked an inside voice. "Sasagawa-senpai," he squeaked out.

"WE WILL USE OUR FULL POWER FOR TEAM A!" Ryouhei hollered, practically appearing beside Yamamoto. "VICTORY IS EVERYTHING! FIGHT WITH YOUR ALL, EVEN IF YOU DIE!"

"Even if I die?!" Tsuna echoed in horror.

There was a tired sigh behind them – Kurokawa had finished her obstacle course, Kyoko at her elbow. The cheerful Beta girl was smiling at her brother, innocence shining in her eyes, even as she moved forward with a calming "Oniisan, you shouldn't put pressure on your teammates…"

"I refuse to die in a school activity surrounded by you monkeys," Kurokawa added in a derisive tone, showing she had some shred of sanity if she knew about the inherent threat of Namichuu's Sports Festival.

An unpleasant smell of orange rinds caused Tsuna to glance back, catching sight of the lean and muscled figure of Oshikiri – the third-year captain of the soccer club and leader of Team C. The Alpha male could only be described as swaggering forward, a smirk on his face as he watched Tsuna's groupmates bicker.

"Fighting amongst team members?" he sneered as he approached, eyes glancing over those assorted before landing on Tsuna. "As expected of a team that chose an Omega as a leader."

The arguing immediately stopped, and very suddenly everyone's eyes were on the tall youth. Tsuna could see the hesitation flash behind those eyes, knew the older Alpha was rethinking himself when he had the combined attention of Gokudera, Yamamoto, Kurokawa, and Sasagawa Ryouhei on him.

"Not a bad sight though," he added with a leer in Tsuna's direction, clearly choosing bravado over intelligence.

It was the last conscious choice he could make, Tsuna tensing at the remark subconsciously. This was enough for Gokudera, who noticed Tsuna's movements and was closest to Oshikiri – prompting him to immediately lash out with a kick directly to the soccer captain's gut, knocking him unconscious with a loud "Back off!"

"Haha," Yamamoto smiled. "I guess he needs to do more crunches?"

Kurokawa looked completely unperturbed, only scowling at Yamamoto. "Shut up, don't add to it," she muttered. "Sawada's already made it worse."

"What did I do?" Tsuna griped. "…Gokudera-kun, please don't kick him again, he's already out cold."

"Yes, Tenth!"

Kurokawa stared back at Tsuna evenly, clearly thinking the answer was obvious enough.

A loud outcry brought Tsuna's attention away from Kurokawa and to a small gaggle of members from Team C, who were ogling Oshikiri's unconscious form on the ground. "What did you do to our leader?!" one demanded, a third year Alpha who clearly had never interacted with Gokudera before because he stormed right up to the volatile mafioso.

Tsuna couldn't even open his mouth in warning before Gokudera sucker punched the other male, adding to the number of unconscious bodies at his feet.

"How weak," Gokudera sneered, toeing the fallen Alpha.

"TEAM A IS FIGHTING DIRTY!" a student from Team C yelled out.

"EXTREMELY GOOD JOB, OCTOPUS-HEAD!" Ryouhei hollered, drowning out Team C's cries. "YOUR THIRST FOR VICTORY IS EXACTLY WHAT WE NEED!"

"Octopus- I'M GONNA FUCKING KILL YOU, TURF-TOP!"

The amount of spectators was increasing, to Tsuna's horror. More members of Team C were fast approaching, and now students from Team B were running forward, eyes wide and faces flushed.

"Okomoto-senpai was just found beaten and unconscious in the bathroom!" one Team B member stated breathlessly. "We found a note pinned to him, saying Team A would be victorious!"

They brandished said note, which looked ridiculously decadent given the scroll it was splayed across, painted boldly in black ink in a handwriting style Tsuna was very familiar with, given that he stared at it every night in the margins of his notebooks, the corrections made in red ink and with a gun barrel pointed at his temple.

Tsuna turned and sought out Reborn's tiny form, napping contentedly atop a picnic blanket Tsuna's mother had brought in order to watch the Sports Festival.

What is he planning?!

"THAT'S CHEAP, TEAM A!"

"THIS IS UNFAIR!"

"YOU BASTARDS CHOSE AN OMEGA AS A LEADER, NO ONE FORCED YOU!"

That last holler was the breaking point apparently, Gokudera and Ryouhei squaring up. Yamamoto, who had started gearing up to mediate, heard that last statement and instead stepped up beside Ryouhei, making his intent to brawl known. Kyoko looked very concerned, but in contrast to her expression, she was holding a baton more like a weapon than an accessory. Tsuna knew without a doubt that if Kyoko was getting ready to fight, Kurokawa would not be far behind, which left him as the sole voice of reason here.

Which was wildly unfair, because Tsuna just wanted to crawl under a rock.

"May I have your attention please—"

The school-wide intercom flared to life, cutting through the brewing atmosphere. "In light of recent events, we'd like to discuss the Pole Knocking event with each team's representative. Representatives, please come to the main office now. …Failure to comply will result in you being bitten to death."

With the message ended on that threatening note, Tsuna glanced back at the glowering mass of Team B and C members before turning and heading in the direction of the main office. There was no point dawdling, as Hibari obviously had a hand in this if the school counselor was using his catchphrase.

Even with that knowledge though, Tsuna hadn't expected Hibari to actually be in the office.

"HIIIIIIEEE—"

Tsuna dodged a tonfa to the face a split-second before it would have hit, to the shock of the Beta school counselor sitting trembling in the corner.

"Shut up," Hibari hissed, keeping his tonfas ready if it looked like Tsuna was going to start screaming again. Tsuna wisely kept his mouth shut, side-shuffling into the office and keeping wide eyes locked onto Hibari, just in case the prefect lashed out again just because he could.

Hibari watched him move, and only after Tsuna hit the edge of the nearest piece of furniture did he put his tonfas away.

"Y-You're T-T-Team A's l-leader?" the counselor managed out in a terrified whisper.

Tsuna nodded. "The other representatives might not come," he felt compelled to explain. "They're…indisposed."

Hibari snorted.

"W-We heard T-Team A h-has been k-k-knocking out the other t-team leaders," the counselor continued, glancing at Hibari in terror. "I-In light of th-these c-c-circumstances, we—"

"Will continue with the Pole Knocking event," Hibari interrupted.

It was obvious this was not what the school counselor had been working up to, but she stopped speaking immediately anyway. Hibari went straight to her desk, pulling up one sheet of paper and skimming it until he found what he was looking for, a small smirk curling his lips in response.

He looked back up at Tsuna, then back at the list, before shoving the paper into the counselor's face without looking at her. "Mochida Kensuke will be the leader of Team B," he told the woman shortly. "And I will be the leader of Team C."

Tsuna blanched. "Then I want to resign as team leade—"

A tonfa impaled the wall next to his head, cutting off his words. Hibari glared at him, killing intent suffocating the room. "There will be no other changes," he growled out. "Get ready for the next event, little animal."

The dismissal was clear. Tsuna wanted to fight it, but he knew that his protestations would only fall on deaf ears. Well, not deaf – they would just be outright ignored, because it was obvious Hibari was hungry for his blood.

Tsuna threw his hands up in a frustrated gesture, storming from the office. (He completely missed the horrified look from the school counselor at his reaction to the violent prefect.) Maybe he would have a better chance of working something out with his teammates.

"KILL THEM ALL! VICTORY AT ALL COSTS!"

Oh right, sanity was the realm upon which none of Tsuna's friends dwelled.

"Do you guys even remember this is Pole Knocking?!" he shouted down from his perch at the top, eyeing his teammates. Gokudera and Yamamoto beamed back at him in support, Kurokawa – towards the back of the group huddled around the pole – waved back at a cheering Kyoko, and Ryouhei was near the front continually making victory chants. The rest of Team A's Alphas and Beta males were studiously gathered around the base of the pole, eyes locked nervously on the domineering form of Hibari atop Team C's pole.

Mochida, pale and sat atop Team B's pole, was refusing to look in either Hibari's direction or Tsuna's. "Can I resign?" he asked the air.

"Resignation means being bitten to death," said Hibari, at the same time as Tsuna's sullen, "I wish I could resign from life."

"YOU CAN DO IT, TSUNA-KUN!"

Tsuna adamantly refused to look in Haru's direction. Ever since the incident the other day, Miura Haru had done a complete 180 on her view of him; she'd completely thrown away the idea of dominating him, but had now taken to randomly proposing to him. Tsuna didn't even want to know how her mind worked.

"Who is that?" Gokudera muttered from below, squinting in Haru's direction.

Yamamoto laughed, and it was chilling.

"WE SHALL NOW BEGIN THE POLE KNOCKING EVENT! PLEASE GET IN POSITION!"

Tsuna tried to think about this strategically. Hibari was obviously the biggest threat, and Tsuna definitely didn't believe the other boy would adhere to the traditional rules of the event and wait to get knocked off the pole, which meant he should expect to at some point trade blows with the deranged Alpha.

Tsuna looked to Mochida. The idea turned his stomach, but Mochida hadn't acted too bad recently; he'd boasted about taking on five Alphas after Tsuna had beaten him down, but he'd mostly kept to himself nowadays and didn't bother Kyoko anymore, so maybe he could listen to reason?

If we work together with Team B, we may have a chance, Tsuna thought. He finally caught Mochida's eyes and began to gesture, he hoped in a succinct manner: Point to him. ("You.") Point to self. ("Me.") Clasp hands together emulating a handshake. ("Work together.") Point to Hibari, then draw a thumb across his throat. ("Take down Hibari.")

"READY – GOOOOOO!"

Mochida stared at him. Then looked to Hibari, back to Tsuna, then back to Hibari. "Oi, Hibari," Mochida called out, gesturing to his teammates to move closer to Team C. "Why don't we get this Omega off the field, then we can settle this, Alpha to Alpha—"

A tonfa launched at an inhuman speed knocked Mochida off the pole and several feet through the air, and he landed on the ground unceremoniously. A hush fell over the courtyard, the entire crowd of people taken aback by the annihilation of an entire team in under 30 seconds.

"Team A's leader, Sawada Tsunayoshi, started off strong with an amazing mind game – pitting Team B's leader against Team C's!" the announcer – which Tsuna did not remember ever having for this event – stated excitedly. He looked down to the audience area where a podium now stood, Reborn's small form visible behind the mic. "Team B is now out for the count – all without Team A having to lift a finger!"

A murmur rippled throughout the crowd. Haru was cheering loudly from her place beside Tsuna's mother, who was clapping with an airily cheerful expression on her face.

"You're brilliant, Tenth!" Gokudera called from below, sparkling with the sheer force of his awe.

Tsuna shook his head vehemently, "But I didn't do anything!"

"It's starting!" Yamamoto said brightly, hawkish gaze latched onto Team C as they began to move forward.

Ryouhei let out a war cry and charged forward to meet the first wave. Tsuna watched in horror as bodies started flying from the boxer's rampage. A few managed to make it past Ryouhei and into the first wall of bodies Gokudera had put between their pole where Tsuna perched and Ryouhei's assault, which included Yamamoto – who was cheerfully snagging people by their jerseys and throwing them to the ground.

"Shouldn't one of us be trying to knock Hibari-senpai down?" one of the Beta males holding up Tsuna's pole asked worriedly.

Kurokawa, on his other side, snorted. "Do you want to try?"

Predictably, that shut him up, but he sent a worried look up at Tsuna as if seeking his guidance.

"Turf-top and Baseball-idiot will reach Team C's pole in no time," Gokudera dismissed. "The pole and Hibari will both come down when they take out their support unit."

Is this a sports competition or war? Tsuna thought in distress.

Kurokawa looked pleased. "So we just have to hang tight until then, right?"

Gokudera nodded, casually delivering a kick to the midsection of a Team C Alpha that had managed to draw close enough. "We can move closer once they've mowed down the ranks," he advised before looking up to Tsuna. "Don't worry, Tenth – this win is as good as ours!"

Tsuna didn't have the time to respond to those utterly foreboding words, looking up and across the field to catch Hibari's eyes. Team C's pole was starting to sway as Ryouhei started his way through the Betas holding it up, but Tsuna could only see the feral smile on Hibari's face—

And then Hibari jumped.

Using members of both teams as stepping stones, Hibari leapt his way closer to Tsuna's position. His tonfas were already out, knocking the occasional interloper out of the way. Iwasaki attempted to grab at Hibari's fluttering gakuran and received a tonfa to the face for his efforts, sending his unconscious body flying and knocking away another handful of Team A members.

"That goddamn monster," Kurokawa cried. "As long as the leader doesn't touch the ground, it's still on!"

Gokudera was suddenly holding eight sticks of dynamite. "Fine with me, let's just kill them all!"

"Gokudera-kun, no!"

The dynamite was gone in the next blink. "Yes, Tenth! Sorry, Tenth!"

We need to end this, Tsuna thought, watching Ryouhei finally realize Hibari wasn't where he was supposed to be and pivoting to bulldoze his way back. Yamamoto had eyes on Hibari as well but was still contending with some opposing Alphas, smile starting to edge closer to serial killer territory. Before it turns into a bloodbath.

There was no way anyone on their team had the strength to go head-to-head with Hibari. With his sights locked on Tsuna himself, everything else would be considered collateral to the bloodthirsty prefect. There were already enough piles of unconscious bodies littering Namimori's sports grounds at this point, members of both teams groaning in pain.

Tsuna could just fall back and let this entire activity come to an end. He hadn't even wanted to be team leader to begin with, Reborn had essentially forced the issue, and now Tsuna had to deal with all this? It would serve his tutor right to have his plans come to an unsatisfying end.

His ruminations were cut short as Team C's surrendered pole suddenly came swinging forward – knocking a cavalcade of surviving Team C members to the ground and barely missing Hibari's quick steps. The prefect paused atop a still pile of bodies, looking back with narrowed eyes.

Yamamoto grinned, holding up the pole along with a handful of Team A members.

"EXTREME TACTICS!" Ryouhei bellowed, blowing through a triad of Team C Alphas. "EXTREME WARRIORS FIGHT WITH EVERYTHING THEY HAVE! VICTORY AT ALL COSTS!"

"This is just turning into a brawl!" Tsuna cried out.

Of course he was ignored, Gokudera crowing out, "Guess you're actually good for something, Baseball-idiot!"

"Yamamoto, sweep away all the piles of monkeys!" Kurokawa called out. It was easy to follow her line of reasoning: with no one left to stand on, Hibari would be stranded and would have to touch down on the ground, earning them the win.

Tsuna already knew it would do them no good. It was Hibari – the prefect had proved on more than one occasion that the laws of gravity did not apply to him. "Wait, guys—"

Yamamoto's group swung the pole back around, knocking down more students who were not quick enough to duck below it. Hibari did not move away this time, and only once the pole was mere feet away from him, he swung his tonfa out – striking the pole with inhuman strength, sending the Team C members holding it to the ground.

This had a domino effect: the propulsion of the pole knocked away the remaining members of Team A, clearing the way for Ryouhei, who punched the pole with a swift right-hook. Tsuna could hear the crack of the wood as it made contact with the boxer's fist but was not quick enough to call out a warning, the blow sending the pole airborne like a free-thrown stick – straight into Tsuna's pole.

Gokudera, Kurokawa, and the few Betas holding it up let out surprised cries at the sheer force of the hit. Tsuna's intuition screamed and forced his body into movement, backflipping off and using the mid-air pole as a rebound to give him that extra push, lending deftly on the ground just as both poles crashed to either side of him – one falling atop and collapsing a nearby relief tent sheltering some students not taking part in the activity.

Silence reigned across the grounds.

"You idiots!" Kurokawa hissed. "You knocked out your own team!"

Yamamoto laughed awkwardly, rubbing the back of his head. "Oops?"

"Oops? Oops?!" Gokudera screeched, pulling out dynamite. "I'm going to blow your goddamn heads off!"

Taking stock of the sports grounds, Tsuna made a mental list of the total number of damages. For one, there were still several groaning students left in the wake of their destruction; this wasn't quite as unusual for Namichuu, given their Disciplinary Committee, so the scattered bodies of Alphas and Betas weren't much of a concern. The only ones who would need to be looked at by the school nurse would be the ones who fell in direct contact with Gokudera, Ryouhei, or Hibari, and that thankfully was less than three dozen.

However, the earth had been kicked up by a combination of stampeding and all-out brawling. There were blood and torn jerseys in the sea of destruction that would need to be fixed. Then there was the matter of the relief tent; most of those under it had fled to safety when the destruction got too close, but there was a handful of Betas and even an Omega second year collapsed nearby, having had to crawl out after the tent collapsed on top of them.

It was these individuals that accosted Tsuna's attention. They were being helped by others nearby – led by a still-bandaged Kyoko – so Tsuna remained where he stood. The faint smell of the other Omega reached him, a lightly lilac-sweet scent with a strong undertone of acute distress.

"THERE WAS NOT ENOUGH EXTREME SUPPORT FOR THE POLE!"

"ARE YOU BLAMING THIS ON US, TURF-TOP?!"

"Maa, maa…"

Dynamite was thrown by the agitated Beta boy, Ryouhei uppercutting the explosives straight up to detonate with a harmless blast of heated air.

"Oh, wow – you have fireworks?" Yamamoto laughed in delight.

Kurokawa let out a growl of frustration, pheromones lightly flaring. Murota, semi-conscious on the ground, jerked up into a sitting position and immediately regretted it when Gokudera stomped over him to better confront the baseball player.

"I'll shove these 'fireworks' down your fucking throat—"

Yamamoto laughed again. "Is that a new kind of game?"

"EXTREME! I WOULD LIKE TO PARTICIPATE AS WELL!"

"You idiots, we only lost because you monkeys—"

Kurokawa's words cut off abruptly as unseen pressure washed over everyone present. As one, the surviving members that remained standing – Kurokawa, Gokudera, Ryouhei, and Yamamoto – looked over at Hibari. To their surprise, the prefect looked completely unbothered, tonfas still in hand but attention directed to the actual source of the intensity.

With increased trepidation, they followed his eyes – to Tsuna.

Tsuna couldn't imagine what kind of expression he was wearing. Sheer irritation was pumping through his veins, and he felt slightly overheated, energy fairly thrumming throughout his body. Everything looked very clear to him at the moment, his unblinking gaze finally moved away from the frozen Omega second year to train back on his friends.

All of whom were staring back at him with wide eyes.

"Too bad we lost," Tsuna began, voice sounding almost light. Gokudera swallowed reflexively, and both Yamamoto and Kurokawa froze like deer in the headlights. Even the irrepressible Ryouhei was having a hard time looking directly at him. "But we gave it a good try! I guess we should help clean up now, right?"

"But that's what they're for," Murota half-slurred, gesturing in the vague direction of the Omega second year who was still sitting crouched on the ground meters away. Given that the pole-knocking competition often gave way to violence due to Alphas' dominance displays, it was common practice to have the Omega students clean up the aftermath. Even the Beta girls would have been enlisted to help if there was more than the usual amount of destruction.

Tsuna could understand the logic. He found he felt very understanding at the moment. The competitors were tired at the very least, so expecting them to clean up would be ridiculous. Tsuna knew there were things they wouldn't be expected to do so soon, such as putting away all the temporary seating or tents - but it wouldn't hurt to just pick up their own things, along with whatever trash they saw on the way, as they took a short but well-deserved break.

Tsuna thought this was very fair (his flame agreed), and he thought about explaining this to poor Murota. He even took a step forward, thinking maybe a closer distance would help impress upon his classmate how even the smallest thing could help, but somehow his foot found the platform edge of the pole and came down on it hard enough to jerk up the other side – unwittingly striking Murota so hard under the chin that he went airborne. He landed a couple feet away from an absolutely terrified Team C Alpha.

No one moved, with the exception of Hibari, who was surveying the sports grounds with a dissatisfied look – no doubt annoyed that a school-sanctioned activity had levied so much destruction on his beloved school grounds.

Tsuna very calmly assessed Murota's condition; he'd likely gained a concussion from the hard landing, and his chin would hurt like no tomorrow, but really, Tsuna had taken a stronger hit from Hibari in the chin. Murota should recover just fine.

"Oh no," Tsuna said contritely, only his contrition sounded a lot more like vague annoyance. "Are you alright, Murota-kun?"

Murota, unconscious, did not answer him.

"Well, we should probably start getting things cleaned up," Tsuna started brightly, turning a very calm and not at all threatening look on the scattered populace of Alphas and Betas on the field. If his eyes looked more like pools of molten amber, he didn't know it. "Right?"

Hibari nonchalantly cleaned some blood of his tonfas. Everyone else – Alphas and Betas alike – hurriedly agreed.

"Hahi! Did you see the way Tsuna-kun knocked that Alpha out?! Do you think he's missing teeth?!" Haru gushed excitedly. "Tsuna-kun is the coolest!"

Bianchi smiled at the younger girl, then turned a smitten look on Reborn. "I still think you're cooler, Reborn," she said supportively. In the distance behind her, Tsuna looked very politely puzzled by a Beta's look of horror as he trudged by, dragging an unconscious Alpha behind him like a trash bag.

Reborn tried to convince himself that cleaning up was a good endeavor for an Omega to seek.

A/N: Reborn is reluctantly having a good time.

-To all my readers who share my same dislike of Shamal's original characterization: I feel you. I absolutely hate the "lovable lecher" character trope, and Shamal is such an egregious example of it. I like flirtatious characters tbh (they can play off really well with the right people), but Shamal hitting on underage and/or unwilling girls was so disgusting, so no, you won't encounter that here. He's more adjusted to this universe and the tone of it, and you can imagine just how well that would fly if he ever tried to hit on Tsuna (or Nana in Tsuna's presence).

As always, please drop a review. Thanks!