©dwindlingflame

Hey guys. ): I'm all late and behind and stuff... College is a biotch. XD

Anyway, as I said last chapter (ages ago), updates will be slower now. Both my writing partner and I are increasingly busy with school. She has to work a full time job along with classes while I have a part-time job to balance with classes with interviews after interviews and I may potentially be working two jobs over the summer. So don't think of this story as dead, just yet! :] I'm still INSANELY sorry for the longest wait possible... I was pushing this back a bit to see if me and my partner could get farther in our plans first. Regardless, I'm updating this chapter now. The next will be a while.

Disclaimer: I reserve no rights to KHR

Forfeit the Game

Tsuna's heart was pounding in his chest. Despite knowing fully well that this is what he wanted, he couldn't help but feel an acute sense of fear. So many voices were swimming in his head. Besides him, Enma was screaming, pleading with him. His guardians all seemed to be frozen.

The air was tense, cold, as Vindice moved closer. As he continued to smile at the sky, he let his face defy the conflicting emotions in his heart as darkness exploded around him. His breath hitched as he could feel the crushing weight of chains wrapping around his torso. He could hear the screams of his family getting more frantic. He wondered if he was doing them any justice... They were hurting so badly, he could tell.

He remembered what it felt like to watch each member of Shimon get dragged away. He wasn't even that close to them initially and he already didn't want to see the pained look on their faces as they realized that it was over.

He remembered Shitt-P's face specifically. She was so shocked to see that she had lost. He promised her that when it was over he'd get her back, along with the rest of Shimon.

He never expected that he'd be in this position; giving up his freedom for them. While he couldn't keep his promise to her in the way that he wanted to, he knew that now she'd still be restored to the real world along with everyone else who was taken...

And that alone made Tsuna content.

Vindice spoke, their voices sounding ghostly as the chains tugged more on him. Tsuna winced, opting to not struggle.

There was no point. It was over...

He only wished that Enma could accept it.

Glancing over to the red head, Tsuna craned his neck to see through the darkness, watching as Enma frantically tried to reason with Vindice. Tsuna knew it was impossible and Vindice only confirmed his suspicions. They denied Enma's request without hesitation.

Tsuna wanted to speak. He felt so weak... but it was impossible. His emotions made it impossible for him to find his voice. There was a lump in his throat that couldn't move. It made it hard to breath, to think, to function.

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see a flash of movement. Another ball of darkness appeared in the area near them. Chains came out of the ground, snaking their way out of the darkness.

Tsuna's eyes narrowed as he tried to make out what it was. It wasn't coming towards him and Enma, so why was it there...? His question was answered when he could see pale skin attached to the end of each chain.

To his amazement, he could faintly make out the sight of very wet, and slightly out of it Shimon guardians. He could see that the flame inhibiting shackles were still around their wrist as one by one, they were dragged against the dirt ground, leaving a wet trail behind them.

The shock of their bodies brought on a prolonged silence, which was soon broken by the booming voice of their captors.

"Thus, with the end of the battle, we will now bequeath to you the final key that was entrusted to us by Giotto and Cozart."

Two papers appeared. Each seemed to have a very different message, though both were addressed to Cozart from Giotto. With a small glimmer of light, the final part of the story began to unfold.

Tsuna gasped as the two letters appeared and the memory flooded his mind at full force.

A man stood before a familiar blonde within a room of several people. Giotto stood with G at his side, and a man who should have been a trustworthy member of their vigilante group stood before Giotto, seemingly ready for a task. "Please make sure this gets to Cozart safely." He smiled warmly, a smile so unique that always seemed to pull people in. "It's very important and he's waiting for it."

It was a letter that gave stronger and further details on the plan that would bring the Shimon and Vongola closer to act more as one, and protect each other. It was a solidifying move for their stature in the eyes of the others who watched, waited, and judged.

There were plenty of people who disapproved of their groups, but it wasn't as if they tried to stir up trouble. That was something they tried to prevent and avoid with their presence. But for many, that was the problem in and of itself. There were many that wanted them out of the picture because their goals were the problems.

The man, Daemon Spade, had nodded and took off, meeting the eyes of one or two others, seeming to exchange some unspoken message of confirmation, before he was gone to do what had been asked of him...

It was on the streets that he discarded the message carefully and withdrew another to replace it. The handwriting had come to match Giotto's perfectly. It was the message that was quite different from the one that had been previously discarded. But of course, no one could or would know the reason for this...

Not until it was too late.

The false message was delivered, much to Cozart's delight at receiving it. And then the Shimon family went on to fulfill the plans created by "Giotto"

The ambush was set perfectly, despite the minor setback of having the Vongola figuring out Daemon's plans. All of their power couldn't protect Shimon from their fate. They all fought, Shimon and Vongola, side by side, but in the end, it was Shimon who fell and the Vongola who took the blame.

And as the bodies laid dead on the sight of the sudden battlefield, only one or two Shimon members remained who attempted to make their way to find the man who was "responsible"; Giotto. They planned to find him, and make sure that he knew that they had known it was him.

They knew that sending his guardians was just an act… That's why they all survived. They weren't really trying to protect Shimon. They were just trying to speed up the process.

Vongola… Giotto… They Shimon survivors knew of his betrayal. They knew he was the reason Cozart was dead. They planned to make him pay just the same. He had taken Cozart, so they would take him just the same…

And it was all the plan of the main man: Daemon Spade

Even as the darkness began to consume him as he was taken away, Enma felt sick as he saw the final memory. There had never been a betrayal from the Vongola against their family of Shimon. It had been a setup... and he had played into it all, so many years later…

Throughout the memory, Tsuna could do nothing but watch the scene unfold before him; the real story behind the betrayal. With each second that ticked by, Tsuna felt more and more pain erupt in his heart. The Shimon wasn't the only one betrayed that night. The Vongola, as well, had suffered at the hands of one of their own. Giotto had already suspected that there was corruption going on among the Vongola... and he was right. He was dead on with his fears...

That night his own family defied him and ended up getting his best friend and his family killed in the process. Tsuna felt that this revelation was bitter sweet... He was glad to know that he was right about the Primo. Giotto was a good man and would never betray his friends in such a manner... but he also didn't want to admit that the Vongola could be so corrupt that they would lead an entire family to be murdered so brutally all for their own gain.

It made Tsuna hate the mafia more than he ever could. He hated the corruption within his own "family". If he wasn't being dragged down to his own personal hell, he would have gone back to the Ninth and continued with the ceremony. He would have changed the Vongola once and for all...

But he couldn't do that now, could he?

Enma's body shook. Just something as small as one man's betrayal started a grudge that transcended the generations all the way down to him. It was so painful to see all of the losses that had been caused because of that alone. And he had caused so much of it.

"As promised, the guardians of the Shimon family have been restored." Vindice announced once the memory was over.

The only consolation Enma had now was that his family was going to have their lives back, but that relief was overshadowed by the guilt that he had pulled Tsuna into this. While this had been something that would have given him the greatest pleasure before - a thought that made him a bit sick at himself now - that was not the case now. Now he was wishing that he could go down alone, wishing that he was the only one that had to suffer.

Why did Tsuna have to act so damn noble and go down with him? It wasn't even just noble, it was stupid. He was grateful for the sentiment, but he didn't want it. Damn he wished that the Vindice would have looked at the defeat of pride alone. His had broken, because there was no need for revenge. There was nothing to take revenge on because there had been no betrayal. Damn it all. Damn it!

But as the darkness was creeping over him, chains wrapped around his body making him unable to move his arms or legs, and making it hard to breathe or try to yell out with the one that was tight around his neck. Discomfort and some pain were evident on his features. But eyes looked up, fully attentive, forgetting any pain and discomfort, when the Vindice spoke about his family. They were restored. They were coming now. When he saw them be returned from the dark, relief dominated in that very moment. He choked out a weak and breathless laughter as he felt tears sting in the corner of his eyes. He had seen it. They really were okay, they really were back.

It was harder for Tsuna to see now. His lower body was completely taken by the darkness. It wouldn't be long now before the rest of him followed. He dully noticed how Adelheid was the first to regain her strength. He knew that she was exhausted. He could see how weak she was but she was determined to not let her boss go. He watched her wobble to her feet, breathing heavily as she yelled at Vindice, shocking them out of their silence.

Momentarily, they stopped the chains from pulling at the two bosses. They watched her scream as she pulled at the chains, trying her hardest to summon her flames. Tears of frustration began to fill her eyes. Her cries snapped his guardians out of their stupor and Tsuna almost wished he could have been pulled away so he didn't have to see what happened next.

Enma's eyes widened a bit as he saw Adelheid stagger to her feet to try and stop his capture. Pain wracked his chest as he watched her struggle to pull at the chains... and soon, Rauji, Shitt-P., Kaoru... they came to help, and even Koyo too. Together they were struggling to pull him free with strength they did not have. He saw their exhaustion, and it seemed they were fighting pain as well. He bit his lip, feeling the tears of guilt spill over.

He didn't deserve them fighting for him.

They had gotten hurt and nearly imprisoned for eternity.

No... They needed to help the Vongola now. He was supposed to be taken, that was for sure. Tsuna wasn't. They needed to help keep Tsuna from being taken away.

Gokudera's eyes flared as his flames exploded around him, blowing away those next to him. Vindice was shocked, it was obvious. Even they momentarily stepped back. "Juudaime!" he screamed, rushing forward at break neck speeds. His attack caused Vindice to snap out of their stupor, resuming their pull on the two boys almost frantically. Tsuna coughed as a chain around his neck pulled him back, cutting off his air. Pain flashed across his face as he made eye contact with Gokudera who seemed to be losing his grip on the world as Tsuna began sinking faster.

Tsuna grabbed at the chain around his neck, trying to loosen his grip to make it easier to breathe. Tears formed in his eyes as chains wrapped around his wrist, thinking that he was attempting to break free. "Gah!"

Gokudera was close, his hands stretched out towards Tsuna. Reaching his hands out on instinct, Tsuna tried to grab his right hand man's hand. Unfortunately, the chains around his wrist pulled his hands back as one of the members of Vindice dived forward, ramming into Gokudera, sending the silver haired man flying in the opposite direction.

Tsuna could see the dark cloak bellowing around the bandaged body before him. Why was this taking so long? Why couldn't they just hurry and take him? End the fight. End the pain. He couldn't breathe. His head was swirling as his brain began to shut down from the lack of air.

"A-Adel! It... It's alright! Help the Vongola! Don't let the Vindice take Tsuna-kun!" Enma yelled to her as the chains had slackened from the Vindice's distraction. The surprise and complete shock coupled with confusion overtook his family's faces.

"Just help the Vongola, pl-Agh!"

But as he yelled again, it was during his sentence that the Vindice had started to pull at him again and nearly cut off his ability to breathe. Pain crossed his features again and as faded a bit, he cracked his eyes open to see Adel and Shitt-P moving to do as he instructed, though the others seemed hesitant. He saw all of Tsuna's guardians fighting to get him broken free just the same, and he was hoping with everything that he had that they would succeed.

Just before the darkness enclosed him, Tsuna could see the cloaked figure in front of him jump back as a flame enhanced tonfa and a bandaged fist connected with the ground where he just stood. Tsuna saw the angered eyes of Hibari, much to his surprise, and the fearful eyes of Ryohei who also dived forward towards him just as Hibari pivoted on his heel and lunged once more at Vindice.

Enma held his breath. Tsuna-kun… Please… Save him!

But as the fight seemed to slowly be favoring them, the Vindice made their last move and pulled them away, out of all possible grasp. And just as that darkness encased him, so did pain and guilt.

Tsuna's lips quivered, letting his tears fall freely as the darkness finally encased him just before Ryohei's hand could grab at his collar.

Silence fell over the guardians as Enma, Tsuna, and Vindice faded from view. Cold dread began to fill the pits of their soul.

They had failed as guardians…

They hadn't been able to save them.

TBC

OKAY YEAH. I STILL KNOW THAT THIS WAS LIKE 5 MONTHS LATE… I'M SORRY!

I'm going to start writing chapter updates for Mistletoe and Snapped. Bear with me!