Haha... Finally, the long-awaited chapter. I hope you're not disappointed. :D

Warning:...

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Thank you for everyone who stuck with me all the way. Just a little more, guys, because this fic is almost done. Now enjoy! :)

Day 5: Final Showdown

Tsuna decided to end this little game. He raised his voice and let his killer intent flow out wildly. He signaled with his hand, immediately commanding silence and attention. "I am the Vongola Decimo of the Vongola Famiglia."

Raising his voice, he said stonily, "Stop this battle immediately. This is all an accident and a mistake, and I plan on fixing it. The bosses of both sides please step forward."

Then, turning to Hibari, Tsuna mumbled, "Please take care of the areas that didn't hear my call and are still fighting." Hibari grinned evilly and disappeared in a flash.

Out of the crowd came Carlos and Ivan. Ivan did a small bow while Carlos just stare back at Tsuna.

Tsuna, not even glancing in Carlos's direction, addressed Ivan, "As I have said, this is an accident. I, on behalf of the Vongola Famiglia, apologize to you. I hope you will let this go. I will take this matter into my own hands, so I hope we'll be able to settle this without violence."

Ivan nodded his head. "As expected from the Tenth boss. Sounds reasonable enough to me, but I still want an apology from him." Ivan pointed to Carlos, who snarled back in reply.

"You think I'll apologize to rats like you? Keep dreaming!" Carlos spitted out.

Tsuna raised his hand, and shot fire right by Carlos's head, burning some of his hair and startling him. "Be quiet!" Tsuna commanded in a cold voice.

Tsuna turned to Ivan and said, "Of course. I will force an apology out of him if it's the last thing I do. After all, this is all his fault! Again, I apologize on behalf of my subordinate."

Tsuna then stepped towards Carlos. "Look at what you've done, Carlos. Look around. Is this what your sister or your parents would have wanted? Did they risk their lives for the sake of a world filled with blood? Look at your subordinates, your comrades. They're dying, Carlos, dying for something that was not worth it, that could have been prevented. These are men that have been loyal to you, that are still loyal to you even though you've strayed down the dark path. Look in their eyes, Carlos, and tell me you don't care about their pain, their sacrifice."

"I…I…" Carlos stuttered, taking in everything Tsuna had said. He looked at a man lying on the ground with a limb missing. He remembered that this man had always asked him about his welfare after every mission. Carlos turned and looked at another man, this one dying. The lights in his eyes had already started to fade, and yet they seem to be conveying some dire message to Carlos. The man whispered with his last breath, "T-Thank…y-you."

And those two words finally caused Carlos to wake up. He finally realized what he had done, to his friends, his comrades. "I…," he started.

"LOOK OUT!" Someone suddenly yelled.

Carlos swiveled his head to see a stray bullet, heading straight for Gerald. Acting on instinct, Carlos immediately jumped in front of Gerald. The bullet pierced him right through his lung. Everyone, even Tsuna, was too surprised to even react, much less find out who the culprit had been. Carlos swayed and crashed down. Gerald, seeing his boss fall, instantly snapped out of his shock and knelt down next to Carlos.

"G-Gerald…" Carlos whispered through his pain.

"Please, stop talking. We'll get help right away. Please, someone, call the doctors." Gerald shouted, looking at the nearest person, which happened to be Tsuna.

Tsuna shook his head. He was experienced enough to know which wound could be saved and which is hopeless. Unfortunately, this is one of the 'hopeless' case. The tenth boss gently knelt down and put a hand of Gerald's shoulders. "I'm sorry."

"What are you saying sorry for? Call the doctors!" Gerald yelled hysterically, holding Carlos's hand tightly.

Tsuna tightened his grip of Gerald's shoulders. "Gerald, you know he can't be saved. The bullet had pierced his lung."

"I…I…" Gerald struggled, still in denial.

"It's alright, Gerald." Carlos whispered suddenly. "This way, I can finally see my family. Besides, death is the only way to atone for my sins. I'm sorry, my brother, for all the pains I've caused you."

"You didn't cause me any pain, Carlos. You did great." Gerald answered back, still holding Carlos's hand.

Carlos smiled slightly, "Thank you." Then looking up at the sky, he whispered, "Tou-san, kaa-san, nee-chan, I'm coming."

With tears running down his cheeks, Gerald gently closed Carlos's eyes. "May you be happy in heaven with your family. Don't worry, I'll take care of everything down here."

Everyone bent their heads in respect for Carlos's death. Several stoic hitmen had tears running down their faces, both sad by their boss's death and relieved by the fact that he died a hero.

Tsuna turned away from the tragic scene to find Hibari right beside him. He nodded to the skylark in question, and received a nod back in acknowledgement. With a flick of his wrist, Tsuna summoned Gokudera and Yamamoto to his side and ordered, "Please take care of the funeral process."

Gokudera spoke up, "But Jyuudaime, we don't usually organize funerals for normal-ranking men."

"But Carlos was the boss of the German branch, Gokudera-kun, and is therefore considered a captain-level officer, who are just below the Guardians."

"Very well, Jyuudaime." Gokudera replied, and took off with Yamamoto to arrange everything.

Tsuna then turned to Ryohei and ordered him to treat as many men as possible. Ryohei immediately got to work, with Lambo and Chrome (Mukuro turned back because he said nothing else exciting is going to happen) as his assistants.

Turning to Ivan, Tsuna said firmly, "In light of the recent events, we cannot fulfill your conditions. I am sure you understand why. Now, if you would lead your men out of this estate, we would very much appreciate it because this is a private matter for the family. We do not need outsiders to witness this."

Knowing that there was no use staying or reacting to Tsuna's harsh words, Ivan responded, "Of course. Thank you, Vongola Decimo, for intervening with this fight. We will leave immediately." Motioning to his men, Ivan turned and walked out the gates, heading back to the downtown slum areas.

With that settled, Tsuna looked back at the tattered German branch. Now leaderless and severely injured, they sure don't look like mafia, much less mafia belonging to the Vongola Famiglia. Tsuna turned to Gerald, who was still kneeling next to Carlos's body. Ed had joined Gerald in the silent vigil next to Carlos.

Opening his notebook, Tsuna tore out the page of X's titled German branch. 'Considered punishment delivered. With Carlos's death, these X's will be erased.' With that thought, Tsuna ripped the paper into pieces and scattered it into the wind. Now that everything had been settled, Tsuna bend down and offered comfort to the pair kneeling next to Carlos.

Tsuna felt pain pierce his heart for the first time since Carlos's death. 'If I had been a better boss, this would not have happen. If I had prevented this in time, Gerald and Ed would not have to bear this pain. If I… If I…' Tsuna continued to blame himself, until he felt a kick on his head.

"Dame-Tsuna is still dame, I see." Reborn said, landing on Tsuna's head. "Ciaossu."

"What are you doing here, Reborn?" Tsuna asked, his voice high with surprise. "And how an I still dame?"

"You're still dame because you didn't dodge that kick. And I am here because I want to. Got a problem with that?"

Tsuna sweatdropped and sighed. 'As unreasonable as ever I see… Reborn will always be Reborn.'

Reborn suddenly spoke up, "No use blaming anyone, including yourself. We still have other things to settle. Let's go." With that, Leon turned into a hammer, and Reborn pounded Tsuna's head, urging him to stand up.

"Owww… What was that for?" Tsuna rubbed the back of his head and stood up. He smiled though, as Reborn jumped on his shoulders. As always, Reborn understands him the most. 'In his own meanie way, Reborn is trying to comfort him and telling him to not blame himself.'

Tsuna looked up at the blue, cloudless sky, and remembered that this, today, is what he is fighting to prevent. He remembered his vow that he made when he first became the Vongola Decimo. 'This mission is finally over. What a sad ending.' Tsuna thought, with a single tear trailing down his cheek that no one saw except Reborn, who decided to keep quiet.

A/N: ~Finally. Next chapter will be last chap, you guys. Again, thank you for putting up with me and my fics. I hope you are satisfied with this chappie. Sorry if I made mistakes, and please review to let me know.

Oh, I forgot to tell you guys. I'm not sure if you can die from a bullet through your lungs, but let's just assume that Carlos died that way. I didn't want it to be a heart injury, cuz you would die right away from that and have no time to whisper final words. :D

And thank you for anyone who read my author's note and participated in the petition. If you don't know about this, please look on my profile.

Again, I hope you guys enjoy this and please review.